Sean O’Malley will face Marlon Vera at UFC 252, the event will take place Aug. 15 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. This is a very interesting matchup because both fighters don‘t lack arrogance, skills and are used to fight in a very similar manner. To have more insights on this UFC Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera fight, please read our preview below.

Sean O’Malley

O’Malley has won all 12 of his professional bouts as he’s cracked the top-15 of one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. After a two-year layoff, the 25-year-old has picked up consecutive first-round finishes of Jose Quinones at UFC 248 and, most recently, Eddie Wineland at UFC 250. People talk that O’Malley reminds them of Connor MacGregor, for being totally unpredictable and ready to cross any lines. However, O’Malley not only trash talks, but he also manages to back it up. So far, he defeated every opponent before the decision and if he manages to win against Vera. Next fight could be against Cody Garbrandt, another win and „Sugar“ might get a title shot. It would be a huge crackdown for a rising star, however, first, he has to defeat an ambitious opponent, who is very like Sean himself.

Marlon Vera

Vera recently had his five-fight winning streak snapped via a controversial decision to Song Yadong at UFC on ESPN 8 in May. Prior to that bout, “Chito” finished all opponents during the impressive streak—which includes, Frankie Saenz, Nohelin Hernandez, and Andre Ewell. Vera was a very close title shot, so he should be very frustrated now, however, a win against a rising star could get him right back where he was before his loss against Yadong. Knowing how Vera likes to fight in the standing position, this is a very dangerous matchup for him because O’Malley has a great reflex, speed, and accuracy.

It means Vera will have to either improve his boxing skills or try to make it a grappling match. So far O’Malley has not used much of his grappling skills, therefore it is hard to decide if Vera should try to force it out of him. However, Marlon must find something new to use against „Sugar“, otherwise, it will be another win for the young star.

Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera H2H

So far both fighters have never faced each other, so this should be a very interesting fight.