O’Malley v Vera was the first fight a fluke, did Sean evolve, or did Vera freeze?

[markantony20]

So I was thinking about O’Malley v Vera 2 and going back and reading posts across the online MMA community and I’ve come across 3 main conclusions about the first fight between these two.

It usually goes along the lines of

1 - The first fight WAS a fluke and it was Sean’s ankle injury that lost him the fight.

2 - Sean has evolved since that bout and refined his skills reaching his full potential as a champion.

3 - Chito froze or at least spent too long getting a good read on Sean’s movement patterns to land a big shot.

I was wondering what you guys thought?

I know there’s probably more narratives that I’m missing in this post and I’d love to hear them!

Personally I think that O’Malley was very dialled in for this fight and took it very seriously and really put his unorthodox style on show against Chito.

However we also saw glimpses of a potential weakness in Sean’s game that he doesn’t like being pushed on the back foot or pressured. That is something I’m sure fighters like Merab or Umar will use in any potential bout with him in the future.

I know this is an old topic but I recently got reminded of it because of Sean’s recent beef with Pantoja lol.

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

I think all 3 of those points are valid, mainly 1 and 2
the injury did cost him the first fight and he also seemed to evolve as a fighter

 

[FrankDux]

Not a fluke. Chito's leg kick was real and it compromised O'Malley. His whole game/playbook was thrown out the window. That's why the TKO happened. Those kinds of things happen. Give kudos to Chito in that first fight.

 

[markantony20]

I think all 3 of those points are valid, mainly 1 and 2
the injury did cost him the first fight and he also seemed to evolve as a fighter

Yeah I think Sean has always been a talented unorthodox striker but he got to showcase it here, it’s a massive props to Chito for surviving all that.

 

[CasualBot]

 

[markantony20]

Not a fluke. Chito's leg kick was real and it compromised O'Malley. His whole game/playbook was thrown out the window. That's why the TKO happened. Those kinds of things happen. Give kudos to Chito in that first fight.

Chito put in some very good work with those kicks.

I think despite Sean’s personality he did go back and reevaluate things and take Chito seriously the second time around.

It could also be that Sean made an effort to keep Chito on the defensive and stop him from mounting meaningful offence.

 

[markantony20]

 

[kdday]

I think O'Malley lost fair and square, but from that point on O'Malley had a much higher ceiling than Vera.

Whether or not you like him he's very young and seems to improve with each fight

 

[markantony20]

I think O'Malley lost fair and square, but from that point on O'Malley had a much higher ceiling than Vera.

Whether or not you like him he's very young and seems to improve with each fight

I agree I’d like to stipulate that I don’t agree that the first fight was a fluke, that was just one of the main three narratives I’ve seen surrounding the second fight.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Sean evolved and Chito bought too many wolf tickets going into the second fight.

 

[Jackonfire]

Not a fluke, that was a legit strike that led to the finish in the first fight. But O'Malley has definitely improved since then whereas Chito hasn't.

 

[Portland8242]

It was a fluke, O'malley was far better then and he was definitely far better when they rematched.

 

[ArtardFiesta]

chito is basically a bw masvidal

 

[flektarn]

It was a fluke.

 

[markantony20]

It was a fluke.

Idk about “fluke” as in it was just a random event that caused the fight to go that way.


That said I think Sean showed himself to be the superior fighter in the second.

 

[markantony20]

Not a fluke, that was a legit strike that led to the finish in the first fight. But O'Malley has definitely improved since then whereas Chito hasn't.

I agree, I think that Chito’s style could of been a contributing factor being a slow starter and taking rounds off to gather a read on his opponent.

 

[jx820]

There's no such thing as a fluke. It's just a lazy excuse.

 

[Oscar Madison]

1-1

 

[markantony20]

1-1

T-T

 

[usernamee]

Fluke. Thousands of leg kicks have been thrown and the amount of time drop foot occurs is miniscule.