THE UFC delivers its best fight card of the year so far on Saturday night when UFC 299 lands in Miami, Florida brimming with past, present and future champions.

Sean O’Malley headlines making his first bantamweight title defence against on the only man to ever beat him inside the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

Also in action are; former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, former bantamweight king Petr Yan and, in the co-main event, ex-interim 155lb champ and Conor McGregor slayer Dustin Poirier.

Leading heavyweight’s Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida collide on the prelims, aiming to earn a shot at the UK’s interim heavyweight star Tom Aspinall.

Whilst London’s own walking highlight reel, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, makes his long-awaited Octagon debut.

SUGA SHOW

But only one man can headline, and in his never-ending search to discover pay-per-view stars, UFC president Dana White has unearthed a gem in O’Malley

The ‘Suga’ show took the belt away from Aljamain Sterling last summer with a knockout of the year contender left cross that promoted him to top dog status.

With his rainbow dyed hair, neck and face tattoos and general swag, O’Malley, 29, represents pop culture in the US right now and has the skills inside the cage to back up his persona.

His 17-1 record features 12 knockouts and one submission victory, but it’s that one loss that has granted Vera his opportunity. O’Malley wants the blemish scrubbed from his record.

The records rightfully state Chico defeated O’Malley via first round TKO in August 2020, but the truth is a high calf leg kick from Vera caused nerve damage and O’Malley couldn’t stand upright.

EARNED NOT GIVEN

Vera, 31, smelled blood and closed the show with a sequence of grand ‘n’ pound elbows before the referee waved it off.

The outcome torpedoed Vera into a shot at former champion Jose Aldo, who had fought for the 135lb title in his previous fight. But a points loss rocked Chito’s own title chances.

Since, the Ecuadorian has picked up five wins against just one split decision defeat that includes knockouts over two former champions in Frankie Edgar and Dominic Cruz.

A 32-fight veteran and former training partner of the UK’s first UFC champion Michael Bisping, California-based Vera has waited a long time for his title opportunity and should care not a jot that his chance lands largely due to O’Malley’s demands.

MAYHEM IN MIAMI

What Vera cannot do is start slowly, something his renown for. He simply cannot allow O’Malley to dictate the pace of the fight from the outside, utilising his extra height and reach to pick Chito off.

Both boast strong ground games, yet prefer to play fights out on the feet.

Six of O’Malley’s last seven wins have come via knockout, whilst Vera has 18 finishes in his 23 career victories.

Since their first fight, Vera has gone 5-2, losing most recently to contender Cory Sandhagen albeit via split decision 12 months ago. But he’s never been stopped or submitted, all eight career losses came on points.

O’Malley has won all five of his match-ups and climbed to the top of the bantamweight tree in the last four years. His growth and confidence levels have exploded.

Vera has to drag the champion into the deep water, past three rounds, and set a pace O’Malley can’t function at. But, to get there, he’s going to have to walk through peak Suga Sean resistance.

TIP: O’Malley on Points (6/5)