Sean O'Malley comments after his first-round loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252
The co-main event of tonight's UFC 252 pay-per-view featured Sean O'Malley's highly-awaited return to the Octagon for the first time since his win at UFC 250. For his fight on tonight's card, 'Sugar' went toe-to-toe with the dangerous Marlon Vera.
The two fighters started off the bout in a composed manner, but midway through the first round, Sean O'Malley tweaked his foot in an awkward manner. That eventually turned out to be the turning point in the fight, with O'Malley being dropped by Vera.
With 20 seconds remaining in the first round, Sean O'Malley suffered the wrath of some brutal elbow shots from 'Chito', and ref Herb Dean was forced to call off the fight.
In the aftermath of his heartbreaking loss, Sean O'Malley was taken in a stretcher outside the arena and while we wait on an official report on what O'Malley's current condition is, the Bantamweight sensation himself took to Twitter and sent out a message for all his fans.
'Sugar' certainly appreciated all the love and support that was shown to him by the fans. Sean O'Malley wrote the following on Twitter:
What's next for Sean O'Malley?
Sean O'Malley is now expected to be taking some time off from Octagon competition, despite no official word from the UFC. The Bantamweight will look forward to getting back in the Octagon after completely healing from this fight and for his next bout, a rematch against Marlon Vera could possibly be on the cards.
Given what occurred at tonight's UFC 252, a rematch between 'Sugar' and 'Chito' is definitely the way to go, especially under the circumstances the fight ended.
As for Marlon Vera, he could possibly fight a top contender instead of waiting on a rematch against Sean O'Malley. The options for the Ecuadorian are definitely endless from the stacked Bantamweight Division.