Marlon Vera believes he made Sean O’Malley “quit” at UFC 252, wants Jimmie Rivera next

Marlon Vera had no doubt in his mind he would be the first person to beat Sean O’Malley.

In the co-main event of UFC 252, O’Malley was looking to remain undefeated against Vera. It was an intriguing matchup with many pundits thinking it would be “Sugar” getting his hand raised.

Yet, that was not the case as O’Malley injured his leg due to leg kicks of Vera and “Chito” capitalized to score a first-round TKO.

For Vera, he has heard all the talk it was an early stoppage but he doesn’t agree as he says O’Malley went out from one of his elbows.

“Now that the fight is over, he didn’t hurt his ankle. The x-rays came back clean,” Vera said to BJPENN.com. “What I did to him, is basically when someone punches you in the jaw you go out. His legs went out. I don’t give a f**k what people think or say. There will always be haters. He went out. But, man if they don’t stop it I would’ve beat him worse in the second. Everyone has an opinion. It was a solid win and I am happy, I wouldn’t change anything.”

Although O’Malley had to be carted out of the Octagon and the arena, Vera makes it clear he made the rising star quit.

“I am going to be honest, he quit,” Vera said. “But, at the end of the day, I know my kicks are powerful and it f****d up his leg. His nerve went away when I kicked him.”

Despite Marlon Vera winning in the first round, many have called for a rematch once Sugar is healthy. But, for Chito, he doesn’t think O’Malley deserves that.

“F**k no, f**k him. He has to go fight and prove himself,” Vera said. “Let’s be real he was fighting low-level competition.”

Instead of a rematch, Vera is focused on fighting Jimmie Rivera as he says they have been scheduled to fight a couple of times.

Vera also believes a win over Rivera can catapult him into top-five and be one or two wins away from a title shot.

“I want Jimmie Rivera next and that is what will happen next. There is nowhere he can run now or any excuses he can make,” he said. “Right now, he has his back against his wall and can’t be picking his opponents. We have been scheduled to fight a couple of times, that is the fight to make.

“I would finish him. I will put the pace and pressure on him and I believe I finish him,” Veera concluded.

Would you like to see Marlon Vera vs. Jimmie Rivera?