"Let's keep it real" - Marlon Vera offers his side of the story after alleged "bitter" interaction with Sean O'Malley's coach
Marlon Vera recently disclosed the events that transpired between him and Sean O'Malley's coach after his defeat at UFC 299.
The UFC 299 pay-per-view featured a highly anticipated main event fight between O'Malley and Vera, with the champion emerging victorious. Before the bout, the two bantamweights engaged in a lot of trash talk, largely related to their first encounter, which Vera won.
With the two 135-pounders repeatedly debating what transpired in their first meeting, the animosity between them was potent, and it still appears to be the same, despite O'Malley's one-sided beatdown of the Ecuadorian challenger.
In an interview with James Lynch after UFC 299, O'Malley's longtime coach, Tim Welch, revealed details of his brief interaction with Vera inside the cage moments after the bout. Welch recalled:
"After the fight we always try to be as respectful as possible. I tried to shake 'Chito's' hand and just tell him, 'God, you are a warrior. Keep your head up. Keep going.' And he just shook my hand and said, 'We'll never be friends.' I think he's just bitter. You see Sean, the way he dresses, the way he acts, the way all this happens. And then you get your a** whooped by him, it's got to sting really deep."
Check out Tim Welch's comments below (4:51):
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Vera spoke to Ariel Helwani and shared his side of the story about his interaction with Welch following the match. He said:
''After the fight, his coach came and was like, oh great fight. I mean, dude let's not be friends right now. Let's keep it real.''
Check out Marlon Vera's comments below (1:21):
Marlon Vera sounds off on Cory Sandhagen
Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen just can't seem to see eye to eye. This came after Sandhagen harshly criticized Vera for his performance at UFC 299.
Many believed that Vera was given the title shot solely because of his rivalry with Sean O'Malley rather than his position as a top-ranked contender. 'The Sandman' provided a candid analysis of the fight on his YouTube channel, not holding back in his critique.
In the same interview mentioned above, Vera responded to Sandhagen's recent criticism, telling him to "stick to fighting":
''You made your whole f***ing do***bag YouTube video. Stick to fighting, dude. You’re not a f***ing influencer. You look like a f***ing idiot."