Redemption for O’Malley, Poirier, Yan in UFC 299

MANILA, Philippines – Yes, Sean O’Malley defended his UFC bantamweight title belt. Yes, Dustin Poirier, a loser in his last fight and seemingly on his way to a second consecutive against the man nicknamed “The God of War”, came back to win. 

Yes, Piotr Yan showed that he is far from washed up by defeating the surging Song Yadong. 

Throw in Australian Jack della Maddalena, who looked like he was going to succumb to Gilbert “Durinho” Burns.

UFC 299 had all the drama, the sensational fights and knockouts, but it was also about redemption and the all-time greats staving off the challengers from talented newcomers and Father Time.

In the main event, O’Malley, in his first title defense, treated mixed martial arts fans to a masterclass of striking, and well-timed and placed leg kicks for five rounds in taking a unanimous decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-44) over Ecuadorian Marlon Vera.

Vera, the only fighter to blemish O’Malley’s slate when he knocked him out in 2020, looked unable to deal with the latter’s speed and pinpoint strike accuracy. A knee snapped back Vera’s head, and it was a wonder that he didn’t drop right there and then, an indication of the toughness of the Ecuadorian.

Vera’s best round was the fourth round, but O’Malley quickly rebounded.

"It feels good getting that one back. I'm guessing we can all agree, I'm undefeated still. Dana, give me a jet to Spain, baby! I'm coming for (UFC featherweight champion) Ilia Topuria! He's a scary dude. Going up a weight class excites me. But honestly, I'm here for whatever. If you guys want me to knockout Merab (Dvalishvili) I'll do that too."

O’Malley copped the Performance of the Night Award. The champion hiked his win total to 18-1-0 while Vera fell to 23-9-1, his second defeat in the last three fights. 

In the co-main event, Poirier looked like he was going to be on a second consecutive business end of a beating against Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis.

In the second round, as Saint Denis waded in, he dropped his guard for a moment and that was all Poirier needed to stun the Frenchman. He survived two more shots, but was soon on his back with the referee calling an end to the fight.

"I was getting beat up a little