Sean O’Malley sees Marlon Vera’s hot streak coming to an end against Dominick Cruz.
Vera (21-7-1 MMA, 13-6 UFC) meets Cruz (24-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) on Aug. 13 at UFC Fight Night where he’ll look to emerge as a title contender.
O’Malley’s lone loss came at the hands of Vera in 2020 but thinks former UFC bantamweight champion Cruz will be too much for “Chito.”
“When Jose (Aldo) fought ‘Chito,’ I said, ‘I think Jose wins that fight,’” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “When Chito fought Frankie (Edgar), I said, ‘I think Chito wins that fight.’ Chito fought Rob (Font), I think I said, ‘Chito wins that fight.’ Chito vs. Dom (Cruz), I think Dom wins. I just think Dom’s gonna be a little bit too fast, just a little bit better than Chito. But, with that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chito won, but I do think Dom’s gonna take that.”
Since getting stopped by Vera, O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has scored knockout wins over Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva. He gets a big step up in competition on July 2 when he takes on perennial bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276.
“I feel like I’m gonna piece him up,” O’Malley said of Munhoz. “He’s the toughest guy I’ve fought, hands down. Shortest guy I’ve fought. I just do really, really well against short people. I do well against pretty much any body type, but short people are the easier ones. Not easier, but they give me the most advantage.”
He continued, “I re-watched Dom vs. Pedro a little bit. It was a good scrap. Dom still looks good, 36 years old. Pedro I think is 35. They both still looked good. I feel like when I’m that old, I’m still gonna be pecking around, feeling good too.”
