"He can break, like anybody else" - Pedro Munhoz on his takeaways from Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon 'Chito' Vera
Pedro Munhoz was asked to weigh in on his upcoming opponent Sean O'Malley's only professional loss against Marlon 'Chito' Vera. Interestingly, 'The Young Punisher' seemingly isn't focusing as much on that fight as it was a long time ago.
While Munhoz believes that O'Malley's loss could have resulted from a freak injury, he also credited 'Chito's' toughness. The Brazilian's only take away from the loss is the fact that 'Sugar' is breakable like everyone else.
Discussing O'Malley's lone professional loss, the 35-year-old told Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch:
"Nothing. Nothing, they're two different, you know?!... This has been a long time and could have been an accident that happened in training or maybe in the fight. His opponent is very tough as well, like, I know him. And yeah, the lesson that I take from that fight, that he can break like anybody else."
Watch O'Malley's appearance at the UFC 276 presser below:
O'Malley saw a five-fight unbeaten streak snapped by a first-round TKO loss to 'Chito' back in August 2020. 'Sugar', however, has been dismissive of the loss, claiming to have injured a nerve in his leg during the fight.
Pedro Munhoz dismisses Sean O'Malley claims of being undefeated
Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera came out trading leg kicks during their UFC 252 encounter. While 'Sugar' managed to land a few, his own leg appeared to have been compromised.
Smelling blood, 'Chito' went in for the finish, unleashing a barrage of punches until referee Herb Dean stepped in.
O'Malley claims that Vera's big toe damaged his peroneal nerve during one exchange. However, Pedro Munhoz, who's scheduled to fight 'Sugar' at UFC 276, believes a loss is a loss irrespective of whether it stemmed from an injury.
According to 'The Young Punisher', O'Malley insists on maintaining his unbeaten image as he belongs to a generation influenced by rappers and social media. Munhoz recently said on the MMA Fighting podcast Trocação Franca:
“He’s from this new generation that is influenced by rappers on social media. So I believe this image of being undefeated is something that defines him as a person and an athlete, but it’s ridiculous. I’m telling you, I think that’s ridiculous. If you’re injured or not, if the fight was stopped or not, you lost, buddy.”