Marlon Vera hasn’t let Sean O'Malley get in his head.
Vera is set to feature on the biggest stage of his career, with his bantamweight clash with O’Malley set as the night’s co-main event at UFC 252.
O’Malley has certainly done his part to build up the fight with his brash knockout predictions, as well as dying his hair in the colors of Vera’s home country of Ecuador.
But Vera (15-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) insists that none of O’Malley’s pre-fight antics have gotten to him and he won’t step into the octagon emotionally charged because of his opponent.
“All my motivation comes from myself, my heart, my family,” Vera told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s UFC 252 virtual media day. “From achieving my goals and getting stuff done for me and the people that I love. The rest is part of the show, part of the business. It’s fun. I enjoy the process, I enjoy the (expletive) talk, answering stuff, but I do it when I feel the need and sometimes I don’t feel like it, I just want to fight and that’s why I like to be active and to be able to do this every two, three months because I really like to compete.”
He continued, “My skin is thicker than his mom’s. It’s hard to get in my mind. I was the youngest in my family, I got a lot of bullies like my brother, everybody, so we grew up (expletive) with each other so I’m good on that side. Win, lose, draw, whatever, I’m here to fight, I’m here to put on a show and Saturday night my paycheck is gonna grow.”
Vera has won five of his past six fights, all via finish, and is expecting a decisive win over the undefeated O’Malley (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and vows to deliver an exciting showing as always.
“I just see myself going in there and (expletive) the guy up,” Vera said. “I’m pretty ready, I’m feeling good, I’m feeling confident. I show in every fight that I come to fight and put on a show for the fans and that’s what they like, that’s what they pay for. Nobody pays for a hugging contest or a fight against the cage.”
UFC 252 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
