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It’s almost fight night once again in Miami. After returning to south Florida last year with a massive PPV event, UFC is back in the Magic City for UFC 299 on Saturday. Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley looks to make the first defense of his title against an old rival in Marlon “Chito” Vera from the Kaesya Center.
O’Malley has been flying through the 135-pound division to start his career and it culminated with a vicious knockout of Aljamain Sterling to capture the title last August. However, many have criticized his resume as he has not faced many top contenders to earn his status. He owns wins over Sterling, former champ Petr Yan, Raulian Paiva, Kris Moutinho and Thomas Almeida since 2020. He also suffered a TKO loss to Vera in 2020, but it’s a loss that O’Malley tries to dispute.
Vera, meanwhile, has continued to plug along as a top contender since that first meeting four years ago. “Chito” has just two losses in seven appearances since then with the only defeats coming against a former champ in Jose Aldo and a top contender in Cory Sandhagen. He also picked up wins against Pedro Munhoz, Dominick Cruz, Rob Font, Frankie Edgar and Davey Grant in that time.
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Other fights on the card include Benoit Saint Denis looking to continue his meteoric rise to a title shot against former interim champ Dustin Poirier. Saint Denis also sits at around a -230 favorite. Every other matchup is a virtual pick’em. Welterweights Kevin Holland and Michael “Venom” Page are set to throw down where Holland is the slightest of favorites at -130. More welterweights slug it out when Gilbert Burns and Jack Della Maddalena meet — Maddelena is around a -160 favorite. And bantamweights kick off the PPV when former champ Petr Yan takes on Song Yadong. The odds are even on both sides for that one.
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 299 along with the latest odds. Check back all week long for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 299 fight card, odds
- Sean O’Malley (c) def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-44)
- Dustin Poirier def. Benoit Saint Denis via second-round knockout (punches)
- Kevin Holland def. Michael Page via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Gilbert Burns via third-round knockout (punches)
- Petr Yan def. Song Yadong via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Curtis Blaydes def. Jailton Almeida via second-round TKO (punches)
- Maycee Barber def. Katlyn Cerminara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Kyler Phillips def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Michel Pereira def. Michał Oleksiejczuk via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via first-round knockout (punches)
- Assu Almabayev def. C.J. Vergara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 299 info
- Date: March 9
- Location: Kaseya Center — Miami
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV
UFC 299 countdown
Who wins UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2, and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on UFC 299, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $6,200, and find out.
