Yesterday, “Suga” Sean O’Malley made his first title defense against Marlon “Chito” Vera and O’Malley put on a masterful display. I will talk about his performance and give my opinions on the rest of the card.
Suga Shows his Mettle
Sean O’Malley entered this bout with a record of 17-1-1, that one loss coming at the hands of Chito. However, this loss did not come without controversy, as the fight ended after O’Malley had a fluke leg injury that allowed Chito to jump on the opportunity and finish Sean.
Many including myself, believed that O’Malley was winning the first fight before the injury and that this fight would be more of the same. That turned out to be exactly the case, with O’Malley winning by unanimous decision (50 – 45, 50 – 45, 50 – 44).
O’Malley outstruck Vera on significant strikes 230 – 89, putting O’Malley third all-time for significant strikes landed in a title fight.
O’Malley, however, did face adversity during the fight, coming in the fourth round and in the final second of the fight. The fourth round was the closest round of the fight with Chito emptying the tank, and in the final second O’Malley took a left hook to his midsection from Chito.
Diamonds are Formed Under Pressure
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is back in the win column after a roller coaster of a fight, and my pick for the fight of the night. He took on Benoît Saint Denis, an up-and-coming prospect in the lightweight division.
The fight began almost exactly as expected, with Poirier having a clear advantage on the feet and Saint Denis dominating on the ground. The surprising part was that Poirier continued to attempt guillotine submissions putting him in vulnerable positions on the ground.
After more of the same to start round two, the two found themselves back on their feet until Poirier connected on a beautiful straight left to drop Saint Denis. The fight ended quickly after that when Poirier knocked out Saint Denis with a brutal right hook.
As a fan of Poirier and as an MMA fan in general, it is great to see Poirier back in the win column and I hope he can get one more shot at the title before he lays down the gloves. I also had an extra stake on Poirier this past weekend, as he helped me pull off an undefeated week in my Money Line Series:
https://fredstories.com/sportplug/sport-plug-money-line-series-monday-march-4th-sunday-march-10th/
What Else?
- Michael “Venom” Page showed off his flashiness and his unique striking ability in his UFC debut
- UFC legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
- Petr Yan is back in the win column with a decision victory over Song Yadong
Next up on the pay-per-view lineup we have a stacked UFC 300 card on April 13th.
