Sean O’Malley and Chito Vera had one last verbal run-in before they step into the octagon for UFC 299, and after their final faceoff, they competed for the love of the crowd at Miami’s Caseya Center.
Vera got an early pop from a vocal section of his fans, hyping up his first bantamweight title shot in a rematch four years in the making against O’Malley.
“I’m extremely grateful,” Vera said. “I’m happy to be here. I’m ready. I’m going to make the people proud. I’m f****** ready. I love you. Ecuador, [let’s go!]”
O’Malley, who makes the first defense of the bantamweight title, got a healthy response with another barb at Vera. He then played to his ceremonial interviewer, UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
“Miami, you guys are f****** incredible,” O’Malley said. “Who wants to see me knock Chito the f*** out? I f****** love you, Joe Rogan.”
O’Malley and Vera headline the ESPN+ pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s fight card. The full staredown from the main event at the ceremonial weigh-ins can be seen above.
This story originally appeared on MMA fighting
