Vera Reveals $200K Robbery Before O'Malley Title Fight

Marlon Vera says his California home was burglarized the night before his UFC 299 bantamweight title fight against Sean O'Malley.

Vera, who challenged O'Malley in Miami in 2024, told Michael Bisping on his podcast that thieves made off with his entire watch collection — valued at roughly $200,000 — while he was hours away from the biggest bout of his career. According to Sherdog, the Ecuadorian learned of the theft the morning of the fight when police called to inform him his house had been hit.

Suspect Entered And Exited In Five Minutes

Vera's wife initially thought the security cameras had cut out due to a power outage. The next morning, police rang to say a thief had entered around 7 p.m., grabbed a safe containing the watches, and left through the front door in under five minutes. Vera told Bisping he believes the culprit knew him personally, given how quickly they found the collection without searching the rest of the house. "I'm counting in my head like, 'Now I'm $200K short,'" Vera said, per Sherdog. "The cops never found the guy. I have a photo and I have this random person accusing, like, 'Oh, I know this guy. His name is blah, blah.'"

Vera went on to lose the title fight and dropped three more bouts in a row before stopping Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 last month. Police never made an arrest in the robbery case.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Marlon Vera reveals $200K robbery on eve of Sean O’Malley title fight