Let’s just say that Marlon Vera did not emerge from his fight with Sean O’Malley with a heightened level of respect for his opponent.
At UFC 252, Marlon “Chito” Vera defeated Sean O’Malley via KO/TKO in the first round. A major factor in the fight’s outcome was Sean O’Malley suffering a foot injury during the bout, and O’Malley has openly stated that Vera’s victory is a testament to luck more than anything else. O’Malley has said that what kills him the most about his loss is that it was against someone he views as not a very skilled fighter. In an interview with TMZ Sports this week, Marlon Vera was even harsher in his assessment of Sean O’Malley, not as a fighter but as a man.
“Let’s be real,” Vera said during a recent interview with TMZ Sports. “There is no big money in the rematch (with O’Malley). First thing, he’s not Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz, that’s money. Whoever fights Conor McGregor, that’s money. (Sean) O’Malley is just a lower version of Conor McGregor. He’s a China version of him. He’s made in China. He’s fake. He’s not the same.
“There’s only one Conor McGregor,” Vera said. “There’s only one Chito Vera. There’s only one Jose Aldo. Once you try to be someone else, you will never be yourself and you will never be able to become what you want to be.”
Marlon Vera has respect for his upcoming opponent this weekend, Jose Aldo, but the same cannot be said for his previous opponent, whom Vera summed up succinctly and pejoratively.
“The guy (Sean O’Malley) is a cry baby,” Vera said. “He’s a little b*tch. He’s a b*tch once, you’re going to be a b*tch forever. I don’t care about the guy. He was talking all of this crap. If you can’t back it up, you better change your game.”
Marlon Vera will be facing Jose Aldo this Saturday at UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Neal. Win or lose, you can anticipate much kinder words from Vera about Jose Aldo than the man who currently occupies the label of Vera’s most recent opponent, “Sugar” Sean O’Malley.
What are your thoughts on Marlon Vera’s brutal assessment of Sean O’Malley?
