Chito Vera explains Sean O’Malley greasing accusation: ‘He was like grabbing a fish out of the water’

Chito Vera is hopeful for a trilogy fight with Sean O’Malley following his loss to the champ at UFC 299. Portions of their second fight left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

A few days after the bantamweight title fight earlier this month, Chito sent out a tweet accusing champ O’Malley of being greased “to the bone” throughout the bout.

Who braid your hair @SugaSeanMMA you where grease to the bone I wonder how much gel they use ?

— C H T O V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) March 13, 2024

Vera was asked about why he sent the tweet out, and he went a little deeper as to why he felt that way.

“I’ve braided my hair in the past, and if you braid it in a normal salon, they put an extremely big amount of pomade gel, whatever they use, to make it nice and tight,” Vera said on The MMA Hour. “When the UFC lady did my hair before the Frankie Edgar [fight at UFC 268], which is the main person that does everybody, she didn’t use nothing. She just went [with] a little bit of water. And when I finished the fight with Frankie, I was dry.

“Every time I was grabbing Sean, he was like grabbing a fish out of the water. It was just like, voom. And maybe he didn’t attempt to [cheat], but he was extremely greasy on his hair. And that’s why when I hurt him at the end of the round, I grabbed his head, the knee [slipped], all my knees [that slipped by] were really close. Maybe if it would’ve been dry, I could’ve hurt him. Maybe not. I’m still where I am for a reason — I lost the fight, and I’m not going to find [an] excuse, but matter of fact, his head was extremely greasy.

“Even if you see the post-fight interviews … his face was shiny, and after a fight, the Vasoline is over. It’s really over. I’ve been in, what, 23 fights inside the UFC? Once you get out of the cage, after you sweat it out, there’s no Vasoline. He was really shiny, and that can be something.”

Of course, O’Malley saw Vera’s tweet and responded.

After losing to Jose Aldo in December 2020, Vera won four straight bouts, and he is 5-2 over his past seven outings. He is a fan-favorite competitor and is hopeful that the buzz he’s accumulated over the past few years — and with a couple of wins — could propel him back to a third fight with O’Malley.

For now, Vera is excited to get back in the octagon, and he’s targeting a return at the promotion’s annual stop at Madison Square Garden.

“Now we’re 1-1,” Vera said of O’Malley. “I stopped him in [the first fight], he won a decision. I mean, he landed that big knee, that I believe that it was more the sound than actually the damage. The fifth-round punch was the one that really hurt me, because it [affected] my vision, but it’s pretty much those two against my body shot, and I said f*** it. If we’re fighting [until] death, the O’Malley family [would be] having a funeral right now.

“But it’s professional. Good for him. … I will eventually get revenge, and now let’s see what’s available now. I’m aiming, I would love to fight in New York. I love New York, I think that’s my city, I feel I’m native from Queens, so hopefully I get to get on that card. I’m sure I’m in a good spot. I can pretty much tell Hunter [Campbell] whatever I want, and I feel after a fight like that, they give you [what you want] because, you know, I’m not too needy.”