No. 4 ranked bantamweight contender Marlon Vera weighed in on Sean O’Malley’s UFC 280 split decision win over Petr Yan.
It was a controversial decision. Some fighters had the bout scored 30-27 for Yan, including former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Of course, there are those the believe O’Malley did enough as well. Vera had the fight scored 29-28 for Yan and considers the split decision win for O’Malley a ‘gift decision.’
“A lot of people have 3-0 to Yan. I got 2-1 to Yan. The body language of O’Malley was, you know, like I lost the fight. When they gave it to him I thought it was a gift decision,” Vera said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “I believe it was a gift. I believe he got the decision gifted.”
O’Malley entered the match ranked outside of the Top 10, but Vera wasn’t surprised that he was able to hang with the former champion.
“It was a close fight. Both guys hurt each other. I think everything came down to the takedowns and the control time,” Vera said.
“For all the people that said he sucks and he’s all talk, I never thought that. I always said before, the guy can fight. The guy is talented. The guy has his tools,” continued Vera. “I actually think he can fight. I think he has power in his hands. He’s kind of slick, but so is the rest of the division, the rest of the Top 15. At that level, anybody can hang with anybody.”
Video: Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley decision – ‘How?’
Marlon Vera: Sean O’Malley got a ‘gift decision’
