Israel Adesanya assesses who has improved since their first fight, Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera, ahead of UFC 299
Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera are set to headline the much-anticipated UFC 299 card set to take place in Miami on March 9.
The pair will do battle for the bantamweight title, which 'Sugar' laid claim to after a stunning knockout victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last year.
Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on the pay-per-view main event, and he believes that it will be a competitive clash.
It will be the second time that 'Sugar' faces off against Vera, with the pair featuring on the UFC 252 card in 2020. 'Chito' secured a TKO victory in round one, but the victory was dismissed by O'Malley due to his perineal nerve being affected during the fight.
During Adesanya's preview, he was asked to share who he believed had improved more since the first fight between the pair of bantamweights. He said this:
"'Chito', he has evolved more. Sean has gotten better, but he's gotten better at what he's great at, which is distance management, teep [kicks], his jabs, shot selection. That's what he's good at. 'Chito,' the main thing is just managing distance. Either you're all the way out or you're all the way in. He has to out-feint Sean, that's why you have to go all the way out."
Watch the Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera breakdown below from 17:20:
Michael Bisping dispells rumor that Marlon Vera had a bad training camp ahead of UFC 299
Marlon Vera will be hoping to secure a second victory over Sean O'Malley at UFC 299 this weekend, as well as realizing his dream of becoming a UFC champion.
Ahead of the clash, former bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling shared that he had heard from the MMA rumor mill that 'Chito' did not have a good training camp in preparation for his first title fight.
A former teammate of Vera's, Michael Bisping, recently shed light on those rumors by disclosing a conversation he had with his old coach, and the current coach of 'Chito', Jason Parillo.
'The Count' said:
"I was talking to Parillo last night, and I said, 'Have you seen what Aljamain Sterling's saying? Did he have a bad camp?' Parillo was laughing his head off... In fact, he sent me some of the footage. Let me tell you right now, 'Chito' Vera is looking like a nasty ba**ard, he's knocking people out in training."
Watch Bisping discuss Marlon Vera's training camp below from 3:05: