Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera have made it clear they’d like to throw down inside the octagon, and it appears they’ll get their wish.
O’Malley revealed Saturday on his YouTube channel that he’s slated to fight Vera at UFC 252, which is scheduled for Aug. 15 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. O’Malley said he’s signed his bout agreement.
“It’s signed on my side,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know if it’s signed on his side, but it’s happening. It’s going down.”
MMA Junkie confirmed with Vera that he’s also signed, setting the stage for the two young bantamweights to square off after feuding in recent weeks.
Late last month, O’Malley (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Vera (15-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) traded barbs on social media. The two men have some history as they were scheduled to fight in early 2019 at UFC 239, but their bout fell through after O’Malley was suspended by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for six months.
O’Malley, who’s undefeated, returned from a two-year layoff earlier this year and has won both of his bouts in 2020. He is coming off a win over former WEC champion Eddie Wineland by scoring a “Knockout of the Year” candidate June 6 at UFC 250. Meanwhile, Vera fought in mid-May and lost a close decision to Song Yadong, which snapped a five-fight winning streak.
With addition, UFC 252 now includes:
- Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – for heavyweight title
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
- Livinha Souza vs. Ashley Yoder
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
- Felice Herrig vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
- Zelim Imadaev vs. Laureano Staropoli