Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC 299

UFC 299 went down last night (Sat., March 9, 2024) from inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., which saw Sean O’Malley defend his UFC bantamweight title for the first time with a dominant unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera (highlights). In the co-main event, Dustin Poirier put an end to Benoit Saint Denis’ five-fight win streak by knocking him out in emphatic fashion in the second round (see it here).

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Biggest Winner: Sean O’Malley

“Suga” turned in perhaps his most complete performance thus far in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career by dominating Marlon Vera for 25 minutes to earn his first-ever 135-pound title defense. O’Malley used his reach, his striking and his speed with such calculated precision that it had Vera bothered for the majority of the fight. Sure, “Chito” had some shining moments. but O’Malley dominated the five-round fight, battering the Ecuadorian and busting him up en route to getting his much-desired revenge. “Suga” keeps proving his doubters wrong, and his stock grew immensely thanks to his near-flawless victory. As far as his calls to move up to Featherweight to challenge newly-crowned champion Ilia Topuria, that may a bit premature. Stay in the division, defend the belt a few times and then he can look up.

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Runner Up: Dustin Poirier

Just when it looked as if Benoit Saint-Denis had Poirier’s number after a dominant first round, “The Diamond” turned to his experience to get the job done. Indeed, Poireir showed just calm, cool and collected he can be, picking his shots carefully while not leaving himself open for major counter attacks. After several failed guillotine attempts, Poirier went to his striking to get the job done, blasting Saint-Denis with a couple of massive lefts halfway through the second frame. The winning blow came thanks to a massive right hook that sent “God of War” to the canvas, only to eat another massive follow up shot that put him out for the count. It’s a great win for the longtime veteran, who won yet another post-fight bonus award, and inches closer to another shot at the title, especially if both Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira come up short at UFC 300.

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Runner Up: Jack Della Maddalena

Going into the third and final round of his fight against Gilbert Burns, “JDM” was down 0-2 and needed a finish to keep his UFC unbeaten record intact. With a minute left in he fight, Maddalena was well on his way to losing a one-sided unanimous decision before he landed a massive knee that sent “Durinho” crashing to the canvas. From there Maddalena proceeded to unloaded one nasty elbow after another until the referee finally stepped end to put an end to the violence It was a great comeback win for the Australian-born fighter, who increases his impressive win streak to 17 straight. After beating the No. 4 ranked Welterweight on the planet, Maddalena can expect to get closer to the Top 5 come next week thanks to his great comeback victory.

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Biggest Loser: Josh Parisian

It seemed as if Parisian was sent out like a lam to slaughter after getting the task to welcome towering debutante Robelis Despaigne to the world-famous Octagon. Coming into his first-ever UFC fight, Despaigne had finished all four of his previous opponents in the very first round, and he improved that streak to five after clobbering Parisian with a massive right hand, ending the fight with a few follow up shots later. The loss was Parisian third in a row, bringing his record inside the Octagon to a horrid 2-5 mark, making him a prime candidate to get his walking papers.

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For complete UFC 299 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.