| UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 9, 2024 (2024-03-09) | |||
| Venue | Kaseya Center | |||
| City | Miami, Florida, United States | |||
| Attendance | 19,165[1] | |||
| Total gate | $14,142,904[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 9, 2024, at theKaseya Center inMiami, Florida, United States.[2][3]
The event marked the promotion's third visit to Miami and first sinceUFC 287 in April 2023.[3]
AUFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current championSean O'Malley andMarlon Vera headlined the event.[4] The pair previously met atUFC 252 in August 2020 which Vera won by first round TKO.[5]Merab Dvalishvili served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[6]
A five round lightweight bout between former interimUFC Lightweight ChampionDustin Poirier andBenoît Saint Denis took place in the co-main event.[7] The bout was briefly in jeopardy when Poirier indicated the bout would not take place as he had never signed a contract and he was unable to come to terms with the promotion.[8] However, Poirier shortly thereafter retracted his statement describing it as a misunderstanding.[9]
A heavyweight bout betweenCurtis Blaydes andJailton Almeida took place at the event.[10] They were previously expected to headlineUFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis in November 2023 but Blaydes withdrew for unknown reasons.[11]
Ian Machado Garry andGeoff Neal were expected to meet in a welterweight bout at this event.[12] They were originally booked forUFC 292 in August 2023, but Neal withdrew due to undisclosed health reasons.[13] However the bout was moved toUFC 298 for unknown reasons.[14]
FormerInvicta FC Bantamweight Champion (also formerUFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger)Lauren Murphy was expected to faceKarine Silva in a women's flyweight bout.[15] However, Murphy pulled out due to injury and Silva is now expected to face formerKSW Women's Flyweight ChampionAriane Lipski atUFC on ESPN 55.[16][17]
A light heavyweight bout betweenIon Cuțelaba and2018 PFL heavyweight tournament winnerPhilipe Lins took place at the event.[18] They were previously expected to meet atUFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green in October 2023 but Lins withdrew the day of the event for unknown reasons.[19]
At the weigh ins,C.J. Vergara weighed in at 127 pounds, one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 30 percent of his purse which went to his opponentAsu Almabayev.[20]
During the event's broadcast, formerUFC Women's Strawweight ChampionJoanna Jędrzejczyk was announced as the next "modern wing"UFC Hall of Fame inductee during June's International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas.[21]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Bantamweight | Sean O'Malley (c) | def. | Marlon Vera | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–44) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Dustin Poirier | def. | Benoît Saint Denis | KO (punches) | 2 | 2:32 | |
| Welterweight | Michael Page | def. | Kevin Holland | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Jack Della Maddalena | def. | Gilbert Burns | KO (knee and elbows) | 3 | 3:43 | |
| Bantamweight | Petr Yan | def. | Song Yadong | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+ / ESPNews) | |||||||
| Heavyweight | Curtis Blaydes | def. | Jailton Almeida | KO (punches) | 2 | 0:36 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Maycee Barber | def. | Katlyn Cerminara | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Mateusz Gamrot | def. | Rafael dos Anjos | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Kyler Phillips | def. | Pedro Munhoz | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Philipe Lins | def. | Ion Cuțelaba | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Michel Pereira | def. | Michał Oleksiejczuk | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 1:01 | |
| Heavyweight | Robelis Despaigne | def. | Josh Parisian | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:18 | |
| Catchweight (127 lb) | Asu Almabayev | def. | C.J. Vergara | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Joanne Wood | def. | Maryna Moroz | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[23]
