UFC 299: O'Malley vs Vera

 The Suga Show defends his belt for the first time against a familiar foe in one of the most highly anticipated cards in recent memory. The Kaseya Center in Miami will host a card that features UFC legends, new faces, and potentially one of the best championship bouts we could see this year. Guaranteed action will take place on March 9th in one of the best party cities in America.

Main Event

    "Suga" Sean O'Malley got his wish and will try to avenge his only professional loss against one of the most prolific finishers in UFC bantamweight history, Marlon "Chito" Vera. The two 135 pounders have plenty of beef and definitely don't like each other. I expect this fight to be a fight on the feet for 5 rounds, and honestly there is no correct way to predict this fight. Both men are tied for second in UFC bantamweight history for finishes and have a highlight reel that matches up with anyone in the sport. They both have taken different routes to arrive at the UFC 299 main event, but it doesn't matter when two unstoppable forces meet in the octogen.

Sean O Malley weigh in

Sean O' Malley walkout at UFC 292

    Sean O Malley has risen to fame in the last few years and the UFC's next big thing finally has the 135 lb. belt. Two fights ago, he beat former champ Petr Yan in a split decision win that many believe he didn't rightfully win, and it allowed for him to rise from 10 to 1 in the bantamweight rankings. However, back in August at UFC 292, he silenced any doubt and put his right hand through 4-time champ, Ajamian Sterlings chin which resulted in a TKO victory. This illustrious win skyrocketed O'Malley's superstardom and he now has a date with the only blemish on his record back in 2020. 

    Many believe that Chito Vera doesn't deserve this title shot but after O'Malley called him out it was on the UFC to give him and the fans what we all wanted to see. If Chito wants to win this fight he is going to have to move forward and make this a really ugly fight. Leg kicks and lots of ugly moments are the keys to bringing home the bantamweight strap to Columbia. 

O Malley - Vera 1

Other Fights

• Dustin Porier vs Benoit Saint Denis- Dana White outdid himself when he gave us this treat as the co-main event. 5 rounds between a future hall of famer with one of the best resumes of all time against a rising Frenchman who has finished his last five opponents. Dustin is getting older, but he's said that this fight is exciting for him, and he has never lost back-to-back fights in his professional career. He's going to have to prepare for anything from the all-around talents of Benoit Saint Denis. Benoit hasn't shown any signs of weakness in his short MMA career and there will be fireworks from both corners in this 5-round battle.

Porier (left) and BSD (right)

• Kevin Holland vs Michael Page- What better way to make a UFC debut for Michael "Venom" Page. Page has been one of the most talented MMA fighters of all time, but he finally was signed to the UFC, and he will get a top 15 opponent in Kevin Holland. Two very bad men who love action and finishing the fights. Page is a puzzle for anyone to handle and it may take Holland a round to figure it out, but this one is extremely exciting. 

• Gilbert Burns vs Jack Della Maddalena- Della will look to keep his unbeaten UFC win streak intact against his toughest fight yet against a man who will challenge him with his differing styles. Gilbert Burns is now 37 but has fought the best the weight class has to offer and still has elite grappling skills. He will have to shoot for takedowns against an extremely skilled striker in the Australian 27-year-old.

Best Bets

• Saint Denis vs Porier- Saint Denis (-205): This is a very difficult move to bet against a legend in Dustin Porier as an underdog, but he's older and coming off a brutal KO loss. Give me the young gun to send Dustin one more fight closer to a sad but not so distant retirement.

• Blaydes vs Almeida- Almeida (-105): Jaiton Almeida may not have won his last fight in the best fashion, but his style works, and I think he's going to out wrestle Curtis Blaydes. He may not get a finish, but I expect him to grind out a boring and slow fight in a similar way that he beat Derrick Lewis. The guy is just dominant on the ground.

• Despaigne vs Parissian- Despaigne by KO (+120): You may not know the name Robelis Despaigne but after 3 straight KO's in under 20 seconds, I expect his UFC debut to be very similar to what we have seen him do against lesser competition. This could be a short one and Robelis will use his 87-inch wingspan to his advantage in this one.

Robelis Despaigne highlights

All bets combined into one parlay: +539

All odds vis ESPN Bet

Fights I want to see.

There hasn't been a ton to cover in recent weeks with new news and fight announcements so I thought I would change up this section and do something new. I'm going to give some fights that I really want to see and some I think that should happen with explanations and a 1-10 ranking of how likely they are.

• Sean Strickland vs Robert Whittaker- 9/10: It makes complete sense and would be a great number 1 contender fight with the winner getting a chance at the champ. Sean should still probably have the belt and Robert bounced back in a huge way against Paulo Costa. Whitaker has been a mauler in this division for years and Strickland has looked like the best fighter in this division for a year or two now. Both of these guys could be ready by early summer. My pick: Strickland

Whittaker (left) and Strickland (right)

• Brandon Moreno vs Steve Erceg- 8/10: Not a lot of people know Steve Erceg, but they really should soon. He looks ready for one of the bigger names at 125 pounds after a brutal KO last weekend. He called out Moreno and they could be on the same timetable. UFC 306 at the sphere makes sense for Moreno but Erceg could be ready and eager way before then. There is also no clear challenger for 301 against the champ, Pantoja, so I wouldn't rule that out. My pick: Erceg in the upset

Steve Erceg post-fight interview

• Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway- 5/10: I know Max has a huge fight in a week but as long as he doesn't get finished, I think he should head to Spain to take on the Topuria in his first title defense. This is a dream matchup and the only thing standing in the way of this happening is Justin Gathje, a much bigger and difficult matchup that's ahead of Max. My pick: Topuria

• Islam Makhachev vs Leon Edwards- 3/10: I do think that Islam will challenge for a second belt one day because he really is that good and big enough to make the weight comfortably. However, the chances we see this fight in the summer is very slim. Islam really doesn't have anyone to fight in June when he wants to get back in the octogen so it does make sense on his side, but I think the UFC will make him defend his belt at least once more before challenging Edwards. Leon still has plenty of work in his division and I think either Belal Muhammed or Shavkat will get the chance first. My pick: Islam 

Islam talking about Welterweight