Marlon “Chito” Vera derailed the “Sugar” Sean O’Malley hype train after handing the American his first loss in the UFC 252 co-main event by first-round TKO. O’Malley injured his leg badly early on after rolling his ankle at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and was clearly compromised. He tried his best to disguise the injury but Vera walked him down and pressured him with shots. "Something's wrong with O'Malley's leg." #UFC252 pic.twitter.com/jgJ1zaFBpU — UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020 The 25-year-old then stumbled and fell, unable to stand up, and Vera (16-6-1) jumped on top and landed with a big left hand then a big right elbow. Referee Herb Dean stepped in quickly at 4:40, knowing O’Malley (12-1) was injured, with Vera racking up his sixth consecutive win at bantamweight. “Doubt me now, say I can’t, say I won’t. I dare you. I’m coming for anybody in the top 10, top 15,” Vera said into the camera after having his hand raised, and added that it was the “Chito show” in a dig at his opponent. “Count me out now. Say something now,” the 27-year-old Ecuadorean added in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, after a heated build-up to the bout. O’Malley’s pre-fight mind games – he dyed his hair the colours of the South American country’s national flag – would no doubt have riled up “Chito”, no matter his insistence that it didn’t bother him . Sean O'Malley was taken out of the arena on a stretcher after injuring his leg at #UFC252 pic.twitter.com/xeVHY7eKxn — ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 16, 2020 “A lot of people have an opinion, but it doesn’t matter,” Vera added of O’Malley’s injury affecting the outcome. “The sky’s the limit. If you’re going to kick with a kicker, make sure you’re ready to kick. “The guy has a lot of hype – good for him. But he doesn’t have the dog I have inside. The dog I have inside is bigger than all these guys.” UFC 252: Jairzinho TKOs Dos Santos to get title bid back on track O’Malley’s star had rapidly risen since a spectacular first round walk-off KO of Alfred Khashakyan on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in July 2017 – a fight that has been viewed more than 5.5 million times on YouTube. A doping ban for a trace amount of prohibited substance Ostarine slowed his march toward the bantamweight rankings after wins over Terrion Ware and Andre Soukhamthath. He returned after two years away from the Octagon with two more spectacular first-round knockouts of Jose Alberto Quinonez and former WEC champ Eddie Wineland that propelled him to No 14. Vera, who has never been stopped himself, was by far his toughest test, and O’Malley’s undefeated streak is no more. The 27-year-old Vera was coming off a controversial unanimous decision loss at in a short-notice fight at featherweight to “The Kung Fu Monkey” Song Yadong (16-4-1, one no contest) in May that snapped his five-fight win streak – all by finish. With a win over the No 14-ranked O’Malley, the top 15 surely beckons. Chito Vera finished "Suga" Sean O'Malley in Round 1 ▶️ https://t.co/tymR31MfXr pic.twitter.com/Oa4yTcC3nv — ESPN (@espn) August 16, 2020 “He was waiting on me to go crazy, just the same as Wineland and the Mexican kid went, but that’s not how I fight,” Vera later said. “Big right hand going forward, that’s a cheap way to fight I believe, I feel like if you find the right coaches and you put the right work in, your technique will be high level. I try personally to be a high-level black belt, a high-level wrestler and a high-level striker. “Joe Rogan has the best advice, don’t read comments, don’t read negativity. I feed myself with positivity, my family, my friends. I know who are the real fans, who are the hardcore ones. I doi\n’t have time to be going back and forth with people, those guys are empty guys. “Every time you answer them, they win, if you don’t answer them, you’re winning in life, so I’m in a good spot. I’ve said this before the fight, I’ll say this right now, I’m in good spirits, I’m a person that works hard for me, for my family, for my country and when you work the way I work, your dreams come true.”