UFC 299 predictions: Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

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The UFC returns to Miami, Florida. Another exciting card featured a highly anticipated rematch between UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and No. 5 contender Marlon Vera. Also in the action-packed five-round co-main event, No. 3 lightweight contender Dustin Poirier will face No. 12 ranked Benoit Saint Denis.

O’Malley sees himself as a budding superstar. Pomp and circumstance can get you far in the fight game, but you need a track record to back it up. O’Malley looked every bit the real deal when he defeated former titleholder Aljamain Sterling. O’Malley can start carving out a real legacy for himself against a hungry pool of bantamweight contenders. He’ll first have to avenge his 2020 defeat to Vera, a ferocious and ultra-tough fighter who hasn’t been stopped in 32 professional fights.

“Let’s just speak of the facts if we really go through his record,” Vera told CBS Sports. “He faced people who had never won in the UFC. He didn’t even battle 50/50 fighters. Some of those guys were awful.

“Beating the champion felt amazing. Good job. He moved well and defended the takedown. Of course, Aljamain’s striking isn’t great, and he raced into the punch. That’s quite low-level for a striker to do.”

Other fights on the bill feature Benoit Saint Denis, who hopes to continue his meteoric rise to a title opportunity against former interim champion Dustin Poirier. Saint Denis is now a -230 favorite. Every other contest is a virtual pick-’em. Welterweights Kevin Holland and Michael “Venom” Page are set to fight, with Holland as the small favorite at -130. Gilbert Burns and Jack Della Maddalena will face off in another welterweight fight; Maddelena is a -160 favorite. Bantamweights open off the PPV with former champion Petr Yan taking on Song Yadong. The probabilities are even on both sides in that situation.

UFC 299 Live Stream | Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera 2 Full Fight

UFC 299: O’MALLEY vs. VERA 2 takes place on Saturday, March 9 at the Kaseya Center, with the main card airing on ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. At 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, the prelims will air on ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+, with the live coverage on ESPN following at 8:30 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The early prelims will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

With so much going on on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the whole fight card, including the most recent odds, before moving on to our staff predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.