‘Defend That Belt McGregor Wannabe’

Current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is interested in a crossover into the world of boxing, but growing rival and perennial UFC contender, Marlon Vera, is here to put a stop to that nonsense.

O’Malley, who captured the bantamweight strap with an incredible knockout win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 this past August, has hinted at a potential fight inside of the boxing ring for quite some time. As one of the biggest stars in MMA today it’s plausible that O’Malley could make a crossover bout worthwhile, but it’s likely not something UFC would want to take part in (especially if O’Malley tries fighting boxing standouts Gervonta Davis or Shakur Stevenson).

Not only would UFC probably stop an O’Malley crossover into boxing, but Vera is adamant that “Sugar” defends his bantamweight title next. Vera and O’Malley have forged one of the biggest rivalries in the division today and already fought each other back in 2020. Vera won via first-round TKO, but the finish happened after O’Malley injured his leg. O’Malley still doesn’t view it as a loss and has been lobbying for a rematch ever since.

Earlier this week, the two fighters exchanged barbs on social media after O’Malley brought up boxing yet again during last weekend’s Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou superfight. This time around, Vera wasn’t letting the UFC bantamweight champion off the hook.

“This bitch talking about boxing, defend that belt McGregor wannabe,” wrote Vera.

O’Malley, who has one of the biggest social media followings among UFC fighters today, quickly responded to assure Vera that he’s next.

“Lolz I ain’t tryin to box. Shits to EZ. I wanna fight your dumb ass,” replied O’Malley.

At this time, nobody knows for sure if O’Malley vs. Vera is up next. With other options at the promotion’s disposal — including the aforementioned Sterling and surging contender Merab Dvalishvili — O’Malley could be matched up against someone else. One thing we can count on is “Sugar’s” next fight taking place inside of the Octagon.