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 has run up a 5-2 record since defeating O’Malley. His most recent win was a decision over Pedro Munhoz on the undercard of O’Malley’s win over Sterling. The win over Munhoz was a rebound victory for Vera, who was coming off a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen.
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There’s plenty beyond the main event on Saturday for fans to be excited about. Look no further than the co-main event where Dustin Poirier is ready to get back in the win column against the fast-charging Benoit Saint Denis. The former interim lightweight champ opened up about why exactly he signed up for such a dangerous fight after a TKO loss to Justin Gaethje his last time out.
“The excitement,” Poirier told CBS Sports. “I want to be nervous and scared and ‘Oh, shit. This is a crazy fight.’ It’s the same reason I said yes to the Gaethje fight. Because I knew it was going to be a car crash. The same reason I said yes to the Michael Chandler fight. Because I knew it was going to be a car crash. This is another one of those situations.
“This guy is young and hungry. He’s finished his last five opponents. Those are the fights that make me say, ‘Oh, shit!’ That’s what I want to feel the whole training camp every morning I wake up. I want to think of that.”
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) -280 vs. Marlon Vera +230, bantamweight title
- Benoit Saint Denis -230 vs. Dustin Poirier +190, lightweight
- Kevin Holland -130 vs. Michael Page +110, welterweight
- Jack Della Maddalena -160 vs. Gilbert Burns +135, welterweight
- Petr Yan -115 vs. Song Yadong -105, bantamweight
- Curtis Blaydes -125 vs. Jailton Almeida +105, heavyweight
- Maycee Barber -210 vs. Katlyn Cerminara +175, women’s flyweight
- Mateusz Gamrot -430 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +330, lightweight
- Kyler Phillips -260 vs. Pedro Munhoz +210, bantamweight
- Michel Pereira -155 vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk +130, middleweight
- Robelis Despaigne -360 vs. Josh Parisian +280, heavyweight
- Assu Almabayev -500 vs. C.J. Vergara +375, flyweight
- Maryna Moroz -230 vs. Joanne Wood +190, women’s flyweight
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
- Staff predictions and expert picks for the main card
- Mahjouri: O’Malley could be the fighting champ UFC needs
- Brookhouse: Best bets to consider on the main card
- Mahjouri: Undercard fights worth your attention this weekend
- Brookhouse: Five biggest storylines to watch in Miami
- Vera mocks ‘little puppy’ O’Malley ahead of showdown
- O’Malley following the McGregor blueprint to superstardom
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.
