Alexander Volkanovski sees Sean O'Malley avenging his loss to Marlon Vera by finish.
Bantamweight champion O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) rematches Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC) for his first title defense in Saturday’s UFC 299 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) main event at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Vera was able to finish O’Malley in their first fight in August 2020 after kicking him in his peroneal nerve and finishing him on the ground. However, former featherweight champion Volkanovski thinks O’Malley’s striking is far superior than Vera’s.
“Interesting fight,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “On paper and what I’ve seen, who do I lean towards? I lean towards Sean O’Malley, pretty comfortably I’d say that. They’ve already fought, so you’ve got to give that respect where ‘Chito’ has already beat him. Do I feel he can do the same things to Sean? I think that’s going to be hard. I know he’s already beat Sean, but I think Sean’s striking is high level.
“I think it’s pretty underrated. I think people know it’s good, but I don’t think people understand how good it is. His shot selections, his variety in strikes, angles, distance management, his eye. All of that is top-notch. Very, very high level. He’s still young, he’s still in his prime. He’s probably still finding his prime. It just depends now that he’s champion, is he still putting the hard yards in?”
Not only does Volkanovski see O’Malley posing problems for Vera on the feet, but also on the ground. He predicts O’Malley is the one that gets the finish this time.
“I’m going to have to lean towards Sean O’Malley,” Volkanovski said. “I think his striking is going to be too much. I know ‘Chito’ is going to want to keep it standing. I think ‘Chito’ has to keep it standing. I think Sean O’Malley is even dangerous on the ground. I think he’s going to be hard to take down. I think Sean can give him problems even there. He can throw some nice submissions off his back, and he’s pretty creative there.
“I think it’s going to be a standup fight, which is exciting. You know ‘Chito’ is going to bring it. I just think the movement and that’s going to be too much. I think knowing how Sean O’Malley is going to look for the finish, he’s creative and he’s got a good eye. I think it’s going to be a finish for Sean O’Malley. It could be a submission, but I think it’s going to be a TKO because even if he hurts him and takes him to the ground, I can’t see him looking for a submission.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
