#Breaking down two key UFC 252 undercard bouts

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Sean O’Malley (left) and Marlon Vera face off during Friday’s weigh-in before their UFC 252 bout on Saturday.
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In Friday’s Post, we took a deep dive into the UFC 252 main event between Daniel Cormier and champion Stipe Miocic. Today, we delve into a couple other intriguing bouts on Saturday night’s card at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Sean O’Malley (-275 at William Hill) vs. Marlon Vera ( 235), bantamweight (135 pounds)

O’Malley hit the MMA scene in immediate and full-blown fashion. A flash KO on Dana White’s contender series was all he needed to be marked as a future star and given fights to nurture his way up the rankings.

O’Malley, a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is tall and long for a bantamweight. He uses fluid movement and his length to leverage unusual speed and power with arm strikes and his diverse array of kicks. O’Malley is just 12-0 as a professional. This will be his fourth and most challenging UFC fight by far.

Vera is an accomplished mixed martial artist who will hold the advantage in experience, having faced a higher caliber of opponent on several occasions. Vera will be giving away 2 inches of height and 2 inches of reach, so he will need to be aware that his attacks must come from inside the pocket or from the clinch. Vera does not want O’Malley to be able to use space, distance and his length in a striking battle.

Though O’Malley has all the flash, brilliance and future potential, I have yet to see him battle past a round or two. On top of that, I have not seen him have to get dirty on the mat. In both of his decision victories, he slowed considerably in the third round.

Vera is coming off a loss that he and I both regard as a win. His opponents are vastly superior to anyone O’Malley has faced, and Vera has looked fresh and effective in all his bouts, whether winning via decision, submission or KO/TKO. And he had won his last five before being totally jobbed of a decision against Song Yadong in his last outing in May.

Vera, a black belt in BJJ, has the grit, drive and more refined all-around mixed martial arts arsenal to take this fight into the third round and give O’Malley all he wants.

Merab Dvalishvili (-240) vs. John Dodson ( 200), bantamweight

Dvalishvili, out of the Longo/Serra gym in New York, is ranked 15th in the division, though I believe his ability and body of work make him a top-seven talent. He will be the taller, longer man Saturday, but that might not provide much advantage as he does not intend to spend much time on his feet. Dvalishvili is a wrestling-based dynamo with unrefined striking skill. It’s mandatory that he maneuver this fight to the floor, where he will own the advantage.

Dvalishvili fights like a bullet on ricochet in that he is in constant motion as he attempts to gain the clinch and clasp opponents against the cage, then onto the floor. His grappling pressure is unrelenting, his strength is overpowering and his motor never shuts off. If Cormier had this guy’s gas tank, he’d be -450 vs. Miocic!But Dvalishvili must make it a wrestling match, as his offensive striking is limited in its effectiveness and his strike defense leaves him open to exposure.

The 12th-ranked Dodson remains lightning quick, supremely powerful and stylistically beguiling at 35. He’s 21-11 as a professional fighter but 3-3 in his last six, his losses coming against the division’s elite.

Dodson’s advantages in the striking game will be evident early. His speed, quickness, precision striking, fluid movement and evasive strike defense will work together to make this a difficult matchup for Dvalishvili.