UFC 299 predictions -- Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera: Fight card, odds, preview, expert picks, prelims

 






Sean O'Malley is looking for revenge at UFC 299. O'Malley defends his UFC bantamweight title in Miami on Saturday against the only fighter to beat him, Marlon "Chito" Vera.


O'Malley sees himself as a superstar in the making. Pomp and circumstance can take you far in the fight game but you need the record to back it up. O'Malley looked every bit the real deal by vanquishing former titleholder Aljamain Sterling. O'Malley can begin carving a true legacy for himself against a hungry field of bantamweight contenders. He'll first have to avenge his 2020 loss to Vera, a violent 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 fought guys that never won in the UFC. He didn't even fight 50-50 fighters. Some of those guys were terrible.


"Beating the champion was great. Good job. He moved well, defended the takedown. And of course, Aljamain's striking is not the best and he ran into the punch. That's pretty low-level of a striker to do."

Other fights on the card include Benoit Saint Denis looking to continue his meteoric rise to a title shot against former interim champ Dustin Poirier. Saint Denis also sits at around a -230 favorite. Every other matchup is a virtual pick'em. Welterweights Kevin Holland and Michael "Venom" Page are set to throw down where Holland is the slightest of favorites at -130. More welterweights slug it out when Gilbert Burns and Jack Della Maddalena meet -- Maddelena is around a -160 favorite. And bantamweights kick off the PPV when former champ Petr Yan takes on Song Yadong. The odds are even on both sides for that one.




Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including a complete preview of UFC 299 from Miami on Saturday night below.



With so much happening on Saturday night, let's take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.


UFC 299 fight card, odds

Sean O'Malley (c) -280 vs. Marlon Vera +230, bantamweight title

Benoit Saint Denis -230 vs. Dustin Poirier +190, lightweight

Kevin Holland -130 vs. Michael Page +110, welterweight

Jack Della Maddalena -160 vs. Gilbert Burns +135, welterweight

Petr Yan -115 vs. Song Yadong -105, bantamweight

Curtis Blaydes -125 vs. Jailton Almeida +105, heavyweight

Maycee Barber -210 vs. Katlyn Cerminara +175, women's flyweight

Mateusz Gamrot -430 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +330, lightweight

Kyler Phillips -260 vs. Pedro Munhoz +210, bantamweight

Michel Pereira -155 vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk +130, middleweight

Robelis Despaigne -360 vs. Josh Parisian +280, heavyweight

Assu Almabayev -500 vs. C.J. Vergara +375, flyweight

Maryna Moroz -230 vs. Joanne Wood +190, women's flyweight

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer, co-host of "Morning Kombat"), Shakiel Mahjouri (writer), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).



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