"People hated it when I said he's a journeyman" - Sean O'Malley predicts Marlon Vera will win via "boring decision" at UFC 268
Sean O’Malley has weighed in on the upcoming UFC 268 fight between Frankie Edgar and Marlon Vera. O'Malley believes that 'Chito' will beat Edgar in their bantamweight bout, albeit it'll be a "boring" decision victory.
In the latest edition of The BrOMalley Show, UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley and his brother Daniel O’Malley notably discussed the UFC 268 matchup between former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Sean’s rival Marlon Vera. ‘Suga’ predicted that at this point in their respective careers, Vera will likely defeat ‘The Answer’. Sean O’Malley stated:
“Frankie versus Marlon – Tim (Welch) and I kind of talked about it on The Timbo Sugarshow. I don’t know, dude. I just; Frankie moves around like side-to-side like in this, like,” O’Malley used gestures and sounds to mimic Edgar’s constant movement, and continued, “…motion. He’s 40 years old, so he is older. You know, this ain’t the Frankie that fought Benson Henderson twice, you know what I mean? Like, he’s still skilled, still a good wrestler, still a good grappler, still an expert, experience-wise. ‘Chito’s’, I think gonna be quite a bit bigger than him. It’s crazy to think Frankie fought at ’55 (lightweight), dude. That just blows my mind. But I think ‘Chito’s’ gonna be bigger than him.”
“I don’t know if Frankie’s gonna be able to take him down. I think ‘Chito’s’ gonna win that fight. I think it’s gonna be a kind of boring decision.” Sean and Daniel opined that Vera loses whenever he faces high-level opponents. Sean O’Malley reiterated, “People hated it when I said he's a journeyman. I called it. No, I think he beats Frankie, to be honest.”
You can watch Sean O’Malley and Daniel O’Malley break down the Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera matchup in the video below:
Sean O’Malley was set to face Frankie Edgar at UFC 268 but was replaced by Marlon Vera
Sean O’Malley’s most recent fight was a dominant third-round TKO win over Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 in July of this year. The UFC subsequently planned to have ‘Suga’ fight MMA legend Frankie Edgar at UFC 268.
The UFC 268 event is booked to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Edgar hails from nearby New Jersey and has a respectable fan base in New York. Needless to say, this was expected to be a star-making opportunity for Sean O’Malley, as beating Edgar at UFC 268 in NYC could’ve given O’Malley the marquee win he’s been looking for.
Nevertheless, Sean O’Malley revealed that he didn’t want to fight in New York due to the high taxes in the region. Resultantly, the UFC ended up booking Edgar against Marlon Vera whom he’ll fight at UFC 268 on November 6th. Meanwhile, O’Malley is set to fight Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 11th.