UFC 299: O’Malley retains Bantamweight title; Poirier wins co-main event

UFC 299: Sean O'Malley (United States) successfully retained his Bantamweight title after he defeated Marlon Vera (Ecuador) in UFC 299 on Saturday (Mar 9) at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Dustin Poirier (United States) defeated Benoit Saint-Denis (France) by knocking him out in the second round of the co-main event in the Lightweight division.

Michael Page (United Kingdom) impressed everyone at his UFC debut after he defeated Kevin Holland (United States) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Main event: Sean O'Malley vs Marlon Vera (Bantamweight title fight)

As the fight began, O'Malley got out to an early lead on Vera working behind his striking fundamentals and landing some clean shots on the Ecuadorian. Whenever Vera found little success, he was countered by more precision by the champion. In the early stages of the fifth round, O’Malley hurt Vera again and this continued through the final horn.

O'Malley won the fight by unanimous decision- (50-45, 50-45, 50-44).

This was O'Malley's first title defence- a mix of efficiency, poise, and precision. In his post-fight interview, O'Malley said he wished to fight current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (Spain). "He is a scary dude. This excites me. Going up a weight class excites me..."

O'Malley also won the performance of the night.

Co-main event: Dustin Poirier vs Benoit Saint-Denis (Lightweight fight)

Poirier battled increasing pressure from Saint-Denis as the fight began. Saint-Denis was in Poirier’s face the entire fight, walking him down without care for his defences in the first, using his wrestling and physicality to get the better of things.

In the second round, Poirier started letting go of his hands a little more, and after working back to his feet along the fence. At 2:32 of the second round, Poirier knocked out Saint-Denis to claim victory. This bout won the fight of the night.

With this victory, chances increase that Poirier might face current champion Islam Makhachev (Russia) for the Lightweight title.

Michael Page vs Kevin Holland (Welterweight fight)

The former Bellator contender, Page made his UFC debut at UFC 299 on Sunday facing Holland, who is ranked 13th in the Welterweight division. The fight was primarily fought on feet with limited shots.

Throughout the bout, Page frustrated Holland, operating at a distance that allowed him to dart in, land, and avoid much of the return fire coming his way. When Holland managed to clinch or drag Page to the canvas, the Englishman was able to work back to his feet without taking too much damage.

>Jack Della Maddalena defeats Gilbert Burns by KO (knee and elbows) at 3:43 of Round 3.

>Petr Yan defeats Song Yadong by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

>Curtis Blaydes defeats Jailton Almeida by TKO (strikes) at 0:36 of Round 2.

>Maycee Barber defeats Katlyn Cerminara by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

>Mateusz Gamrot defeats Rafael Dos Anjos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

>Kyler Phillips defeats Pedro Munoz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

>Philipe Lins defeats Ion Cutelaba by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

>Michel Pereira defeats Michal Oleksiejczuk by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:01 of Round 1.

>Robelis Despaigne defeats Josh Parisian by TKO (strikes) at 0:18 of Round 1.

>Asu Almabayev defeats CJ Vergara by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

>Joanne Wood defeats Maryna Moroz by a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).