3/10/24: Sean O'Malley Dominates Marlon Vera Through Five Rounds, Defends Bantamweight Belt
Also: Joanna Jedrzejczyk joins the UFC Hall of Fame
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue has a report on last night’s UFC 299 pay-per-view, plus a few other news stories. Let’s get started!
Sean O’Malley Retains UFC Bantamweight Championship With Impressive Striking Performance Over Marlon Vera
A one-sided standup performance from Sean O’Malley left no doubts that he would leave this weekend as champion, earning a comfortable unanimous decision victory over Marlon Vera to defend his UFC Bantamweight Championship for the first time.
O’Malley’s win, which came in the main event of UFC 299 from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, USA, saw him earn all rounds on official scorecards, with one of the judges seeing the final frame as a 10-8 in favor of the champ.
All five rounds of the fight went O’Malley’s way due to constant pressure on the feet, unloading combinations that Vera had no match for. O’Malley had a consistent two-punch combo that was landing frequently throughout the fight, in part explaining why he had a strike accuracy of 60 percent or more in every round. His pace intensified as the fight progressed, and Vera was unable to ever provide an adequate response.
One of the most impactful shots from O’Malley came in the second round, as a clean knee to the head briefly had Vera hurt and opened a cut.
While the fight was a stellar performance from O’Malley, Vera wasn’t simply just a punching bag. The challenger came out aggressive in the fourth round, making O’Malley visibly uncomfortable and landing with shots that caused O’Malley to begin bleeding from the nose. Even after the performance that he put in during that stanza, it wasn’t enough for judges to consider it more than what O’Malley had put forward.
O’Malley achieved revenge against Vera after losing to the bantamweight talent in 2020. Vera’s win against the now-champ was a first-round finish, with an ankle injury to O’Malley playing a significant factor in the outcome.
More importantly, O’Malley is still the top name at bantamweight. He earned champ status last year, ending the reign of Aljamain Sterling with a second-round finish. O’Malley has attained 10 UFC wins since 2017, including a 2022 win over former champ Petr Yan.
In his post-fight interview, O’Malley expressed interest in moving up to featherweight for a matchup against newly-crowned champ Ilia Topuria. However, in his own division, he has a strong challenger in Merab Dvalishvili, who sits atop the 135-pound rankings with a 10-fight winning streak. That run of wins was improved upon last month at UFC 298 when Dvalishvili beat former two-division champ Henry Cejudo on scorecards.
Saturday was the first title opportunity for 23-fight UFC vet Vera. He earned the opportunity after attaining many big wins at the top of the division in recent years, including fights against Dominick Cruz and Rob Font. While he suffered a split decision defeat to Cory Sandhagen last year, he got back on the title hunt after defeating Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292.
Lightweight veteran Dustin Poirier returned to the win column in the co-main event, stopping the momentum of Benoit Saint-Denis with a brutal second-round finish. After struggling to submit Saint-Denis on the ground — causing him to lose position a couple of times — Poirier scored two knockdowns including a fight-ending right hook.
Lower on the main card, Bellator vet Michael “Venom” Page had a sluggish three-round victory over Kevin Holland. Also at welterweight, rising name Jack Della Maddalena picked up a late finish against Gilbert Burns.
Here are the quick results for UFC 299:
Main Card (10:00PM EST) (PPV)
Bout 14: Sean O’Malley def. Marlon Vera via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 13: Dustin Poirier def. Benoit Saint-Denis via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:32)
Bout 12: Michael Page def. Kevin Holland via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Jack Della Maddalena def. Gilbert Burns via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:43)
Bout 10: Petr Yan def. Song Yadong via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EST) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 9: Curtis Blaydes def. Jailton Almeida via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:36)
Bout 8: Maycee Barber def. Katlyn Cerminara via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael dos Anjos via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Kyler Phillips def. Pedro Munhoz via Decision, Unanimous
Early Prelims (6:00PM EST) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 5: Philipe Lins def. Ion Cutelaba via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Michel Pereira def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:01)
Bout 3: Robelis Despaigne def. Josh Parisian via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:18)
Bout 2: Asu Almabaev def. CJ Vergara via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz via Decision, Split
Long-time Strawweight Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk Announced For UFC Hall of Fame
Joanna Jedrzejczyk will become the second-ever woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame later this year.
The former UFC Strawweight Champion will join the 2024 class as part of the “Modern Wing,” as announced Saturday night at UFC 299.
Jedrzejczyk, 36, is best known for her lengthy reign as strawweight champion. She earned the title at UFC 185 in 2015, dethroning inaugural titleholder Carla Esparza in the second round with strikes.
She then defended her belt five times over three years, including wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade. No other strawweight has held the belt for as many days as Jedrzejczyk or defended it as many times as she did. Her run with the belt came to an end in 2017 when Rose Namajunas stopped her with punches at UFC 217.
Jedrzejczyk continued to compete in high-level fights following the end of her title run. She rematched Namajunas a year later, going five rounds but ultimately losing a unanimous decision.
The Polish fighter had a brief stint up at flyweight, losing a fight for the vacant belt against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 231.
In early 2020, Jedrzejczyk was on the losing side of a split decision to Zhang Weili, in a meeting that many regarded as “Fight of the Year.” She announced her retirement from MMA in 2022 after losing a fight to Zhang, who was in between title reigns at that point.
Jedrzeczyk is the first woman to join the UFC Hall of Fame since Ronda Rousey’s 2018 induction. She’s the second fighter confirmed for the “Modern Wing” this year, with former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar also currently announced. It was also revealed last month that former Pride FC Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva will be the latest addition to the “Pioneer Wing.”
The UFC Hall of Fame ceremony is expected to take place during “International Fight Week,” which is scheduled for late June this year.
Flyweight Veteran Joanne Wood Retires Following UFC 299 Win
Joanne Wood called an end to her MMA career on Saturday after picking up her ninth win in the UFC cage.
Wood scored a split decision victory over Maryna Moroz in the opening fight of UFC 299 on Saturday evening. She got the scorecard nod after a fight that was on the feet for the second and third rounds and saw her land a spinning backfist.
Wood, 38, is leaving MMA after 25 pro fights and a decade in the UFC. She first debuted in 2012, making appearances on the European regional scene and in the all-women’s promotion Invicta FC.
Wood joined Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2014 after attaining an undefeated record of eight wins. She was eliminated in the season’s semi-finals by Rose Namajunas but joined the promotion’s strawweight roster afterward.
The Scottish talent moved up to the flyweight division in 2016 when UFC introduced the weight class for women. This division became her home up until her retirement this weekend.
Wood fought among the ranked flyweight names and earned a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko in 2020. Unfortunately, after Shevchenko suffered an injury, that fight was canceled and never rebooked.
With her win on Saturday, Wood finished her career with a UFC record of nine wins and eight losses.
Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko Announces As Coaches For ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Season 32, Lineups Revealed
A pair of decorated flyweights will serve as coaches for the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
UFC Flyweight Champion Alexa Grasso and former titleholder Valentina Shevchenko will coach featherweight and middleweight fighters in Season 32 of “TUF,” per an announcement made this week. The season will first begin airing on June 4th and will begin filming this weekend, per Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
The announcement of Grasso and Shevchenko coaching means that the duo will likely meet in a trilogy bout this year. Grasso ended the lengthy flyweight title stint of Shevchenko in March of last year, submitting her in the fourth round with a rear naked choke. The duo met in a rematch six months later, although that fight produced an unsatisfying draw result.
Before Grasso and Shevchenko potentially face off for a third time, they’ll have coaching duties on UFC’s reality TV show to focus on.
The featherweight bracket has a strong lineup of prospects from around the world. Former PFL “Challenger Series” talent Edwin Cooper Jr., nine-fight Cage Warriors vet Nathan Fletcher, Zygimantas Ramaska, HEX Fight Series Featherweight Champion Kaan Ofli, BKFC alum Bekhzod Usmonov, Rodie Roets, Guillermo Torres, and Mairon Santos will all be competing.
Up at middleweight, many notable regional champs will attempt to fight their way into the UFC. Four-fight Cage Warriors talent Omran Chaaban, former interim LFA Welterweight Champion Shamidkhan Magomedov, EFC Welterweight Champion Mark Hulme, former Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion Giannis Bachar, Robert Valentin, Ryan Loder, Thomas Theocharis and Paddy McCorry have been announced for the bracket.
Featherweight will be appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter” for the first time since 2018. Middleweight was on the show more recently, competing in 2021.