‘He’s going to dance around the Octagon’

TNT Sports pundit Michael Bisping has had his say on how Marlon Vera should go about his fight with Sean O’Malley at UFC 299.

O’Malley, the reigning bantamweight champion, faces the Ecuadorian in the main event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida in a rematch of the 2020 bout, where Vera dealt the American the only loss on his record via TKO at UFC 252.

Speaking on TNT Sports’ UFC Fight Week preview show, Bisping, the UFC Hall of Famer, couldn’t help but admire the complete nature of the American O’Malley’s fighting style.

“O’Malley is beautiful on his feet,” Bisping said.

“He’s really nice to watch. He puts together slick, fast combinations. He’s got great jujitsu as well. He submitted Takanori Gomi, a man that has a world-class ground game. He’s not a one trick pony. But confidence is a big thing.”

‘Sugar’ had previously been criticised for the level of his opponents in his 2021 bouts against Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva, but he has answered his critics with some near-perfect recent performances.

“These guys aren’t at the top of the food chain,” Bisping explained. “People were always saying ‘he’s fighting easy competition’. Well, he stepped up against Pedro Munhoz. That ended because of an eye poke, sadly.

“Then he goes out and beats Petr Yan, who, at that time, his stock was ridiculously high. A former champion, of course, who beat some great fighters.

“He topped it off by knocking out Aljamain Sterling, a man who has defended the Bantamweight title more times than anybody else. A man that had just come off an incredible victory over Henry Cejudo and it wasn’t even close. That right hand was absolutely perfect.”

Bisping, the first British champion in UFC history, feared the worst for the contender Vera if he allowed O’Malley into his slick rhythm.

“That’s what Chito has got to be careful of,” Bisping said. “O’Malley is taller, longer, faster, and smart.

“He’s got excellent footwork. The combinations that he has; the way he cuts angles and the way he moves around the Octagon. That’s gonna be Chito’s problem.

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“Can he get on the inside and can he defeat the speed of O’Malley?

“If he doesn’t make something happen as the fight progresses, then O’Malley is just going to pick him apart on the outside.

“He’s going to dance around the Octagon and make it a very frustrating night for him.”

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