Tag: Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley reacts to Aljamain Sterling’s UFC 300 win: ‘I saved the bantamweight division’

Sean O’Malley didn’t find Aljamain Sterling’s featherweight debut too entertaining.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] didn’t find [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]’s featherweight debut too entertaining.

Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) scored a shutout of Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at UFC 300, where he stifled him with his grappling. The former bantamweight champion, who lost his title to O’Malley by knockout, showed that his power translated well to 145 pounds.

Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) took a shot at Sterling’s performance.

“‘Aljo’ looked good – he made Calvin look bad,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I think it was three times, three different times, the crowd was booing. (Sterling was) just taking him down, holding him down and just holding him there, which, I mean, that’s just his style. You know, I saved the bantamweight division – that’s what I was about to say.”

However, O’Malley acknowledged that big things are on the horizon for Sterling, who called out Brian Ortega after his win. Sterling also mentioned Movsar Evloev, who reciprocated the interest.

O’Malley agrees with that idea.

“But who do you go next? If you would have went out there and finished Calvin in impressive fashion, then I’m like, ‘Damn, you could get a big fight,'” O’Malley said. “But after that – still, regardless whether people love him or hate him, Aljo is somewhat of a star and he gets a bigger fight after that.

“Calvin is on a three-fight losing streak. He’s a little bit older. You win a boring decision, who do you give Aljo now in the featherweight division? What about Diego Lopes? They’ll probably give him Movsar (Evloev).”

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Sean O’Malley: UFC could give blessing on Ryan Garcia boxing match after ‘two more f*cking sick performances’

Sean O’Malley claims he’s had discussions with the UFC brass about boxing Ryan Garcia, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] claims he’s had preliminary discussions with the UFC brass about a future boxing match against [autotag]Ryan Garcia[/autotag], and it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Garcia has captured the attention of the combat sports world in recent days after he concluded an erratic and concerning build to his boxing match against Devin Haney with a shocking majority decision victory Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Garcia’s performance, in which he scored three knockdowns on Haney, turned him from a seemingly toxic force to a desirable matchup for many. That includes O’Malley, who has been beating the drum for a future fight against Garcia, and thinks that pursuit is now only more realistic.

“A boxing fight’s possible, for sure,” O’Malley said on Monday’s episode of the “TimboSugarShow” podcast. “I’m not there yet. I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more f*cking sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do it.”

Another Mayweather vs. McGregor?

Conor McGregor broke barriers in August 2017 while, as two-division UFC champion, he arranged a crossover fight against Floyd Mayweather. The UFC was active in the promotion of the fight and took a cut of McGregor’s earnings, but it was a career and life-changing opportunity for “The Notorious” that has opened doors for numerous athletes to call for crossover fights.

The UFC has yet to oblige in active participation in anything like Mayweather vs. McGregor since then, with UFC CEO Dana White repeatedly stating he wants his fighters to stay in their respective sport. There may be some wiggle room for O’Malley, though, who said conversations with UFC power players have led him to believe a fight with Garcia isn’t a pipe dream.

“They told me, ‘You can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money,'” O’Malley revealed. “The option is there. It just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f*cking freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f*cking Floyd vs. Conor fight.”

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Dvalishvili showdown on delay

For now, though, O’Malley is focused on what’s next in his own career, and that’s a title defense against Merab Dvalishvili. He wants the matchup booked as soon as possible but said the timing of the UFC schedule is working against him.

“I’m trying to get it booked ASAP,” O’Malley said. “The only issue is some of the next pay-per-views aren’t in the country, and I’m not fighting out of the country. They have other people to take other places. But I’m ready to go. I’m wanting to get the fight booked ASAP.

“I just want to hit him with that knee and, boom, flatline him.”

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Cody Garbrandt: Merab Dvalishvili fight will test how legit UFC champ Sean O’Malley is

Cody Garbrandt isn’t too sold on UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley just yet.

[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] isn’t too sold on UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] just yet.

O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defeated ex-champ Petr Yan to become No. 1 contender, knocked out Aljamain Sterling to become champion, and battered Marlon Vera in his first title defense.

However, Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) thinks there are a few asterisks that come with those wins.

“He didn’t beat Yan, so let’s be honest,” Garbrandt told MMA Junkie. “He was given that. The Aljo fight, I think Aljo just pushed, raced fast back to bantamweight. Those weight cuts took a toll on him. As a champion, they want to keep you busy. … (Sterling) came right in, right in front of him, sharp-shot him, caught him.

“So good on ‘Sugar’ Sean to be the champion, to beat Aljamain. Aljamain had a great run. The ‘Chito’ (Vera) fight was so-so for me. His first title defense, he went five rounds against a guy who gave him his first loss, but back story is ‘Chito’ didn’t have the best camp, was injured going in. Who knows?”

O’Malley is targeting [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for his next title defense. Garbrandt sees Dvalishvili as a test to prove if O’Malley is really that good.

“I think this Merab fight is going to be pretty interesting to see how legit ‘Sugar’ Sean is,” Garbrandt said. “Can he stuff takedowns? Can he go the distance in a higher-paced fight. ‘Chito’ didn’t try to take one takedown. This is mixed martial arts.”

Garbrandt meets Deiveson Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 300 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Tim Welch: Merab Dvalishvili never fought someone like Sean O’Malley, ‘who can put your lights out, one punch’

Tim Welch thinks Sean O’Malley’s power will surprise Merab Dvalishvili.

Tim Welch thinks [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]’s power will surprise [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].

Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) is targeting Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for his next title defense – a matchup that his head coach Welch knows will be tough.

Dvalishvili was rocked badly in his finish over Marlon Moraes at UFC 266, and was stumbled in his most recent win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. But Welch says if O’Malley lands clean on Dvalishvili, it will be a different story. He sees O’Malley’s height posing problems.

“Merab is a serious tank,” Welch said on his YouTube channel. “(He has a) 10-fight win streak, and it’s against guys like this: John Dodson 5’2; Cody Stamann 5’2; Marlon Moraes 5’6; Jose Aldo, I think, what, 5’6, 5’7?; Petr Yan 5’2; Henry Cejudo is a clean 5’0. So it’s guys that are a little bit shorter than ‘Sugar.’

“Sean’s a solid 5’10, knows how to control the distance, loves when people load up on punches – and Merab loads up. It’s going to be an interesting fight. We’ve never fought no one like Merab. Obviously, he’s a machine and he’s not going to stop. But Merab’s never fought no one like ‘The Sugar Show’ who can put your lights out, one punch.”

(Tapology lists Dodson’s height as 5-foot-3, Stamann 5-foot-6, Moraes 5-foot-6, Aldo 5-foot-7, Yan 5-foot-7 and Cejudo 5-foot-4. The site lists O’Malley as 5-foot-11, as does UFC.com.)

O’Malley, who’s fresh off avenging his loss to Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner earlier this month, wants to dismiss the notion he’s avoiding Dvalishvili. He initially called out featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, but quickly pivoted to the streaking Dvalishvili.

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Cory Sandhagen: UFC champ Sean O’Malley has ‘really good shot’ of finishing Merab Dvalishvili

Cory Sandhagen envisions UFC champ Sean O’Malley stopping Merab Dvalishvili.

[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] envisions UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] stopping [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].

O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) announced that he’d like to fight Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next to prove to everyone that he isn’t ducking the streaking contender.

Dvalishvili is a relentless grappler. He attempted a UFC record 49 takedowns in his win over Petr Yan and managed to take down Olympic gold medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo five times in a come-from-behind win at UFC 298. But with O’Malley’s precision and knockout power, Sandhagen wouldn’t be surprised if the champion was able to take out Dvalishvili.

“I think O’Malley has a really good shot at clipping Merab and finishing him,” Sandhagen said in an interview with Fanatics View. “That’s never really a good place to put all your eggs in a basket. That’s not a super reliable way to win. But, it’s reliable for O’Malley usually. So, I think if you have to start standing against O’Malley for five rounds and he’s that much better of a striker than Merab.

“Merab is a far superior wrestler and grappler than O’Malley is, but O’Malley is a far superior striker, so that makes it really interesting. Also just the style Merab has in grappling, he doesn’t really hold people down. He kind of lets them work back up and so if I was Merab, I would try and stick him to the mat and keep him there. If I was O’Malley, I would use that first minute of each round to really do what he did to Sterling and pinpoint, and missile this guy from a far. So, I can see O’Malley winning.”

Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is angling for a fight against another high-level wrestler in undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. The former interim title challenger hopes a win would lead to a shot at the winner of the projected matchup between O’Malley and Dvalishvili.

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UFC champ Sean O’Malley grants Merab Dvalishvili next title shot but warns him: ‘Careful what you wish for’

UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley issues Merab Dvalishvili a warning – and is granting his wish.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] has issued [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] a warning – and is granting his wish.

Initially calling out featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) announced that his next title defense will be against the streaking Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who’s been eager to fight him.

O’Malley wants to dismiss the notion that he’s avoiding the relentless grappler and actually thinks it’s a good stylistic matchup. Dvalishvili attempted a UFC record 49 takedowns in his lopsided win over Petr Yan in March 2023.

“Merab is f*cking next. His wish is granted,” O’Malley said on his “TimboSugarShow” podcast. “A lot of people said I’m ducking him. I just really am not ducking that little dude. I like the fight for me. There’s multiple ways to win. I’m excited about the fight now finally.

“I was never ducking him. I was just never excited to fight him. Now, is it the right time? Just like the ‘Chito’ rematch. Like, the time will come to where it’s the right time to fight certain people. Merab’s next, and careful what you wish for, buddy. Careful what you wish for.”

O’Malley notched his first title defense when he avenged his loss to Marlon Vera by putting on a striking masterclass in the UFC 299 headliner earlier this month. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight winning streak, most recently rallying to outlast former two-division champ Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

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UFC champ Alexandre Pantoja would entertain bantamweight ‘just for Sean O’Malley’

Alexandre Pantoja is still interested in fighting fellow UFC champ Sean O’Malley.

UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] is still interested in fighting [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag].

Pantoja and bantamweight champion O’Malley went back-and-forth online this past September about a sparring session in 2017, with each fighter having his own version of the story.

Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defends his flyweight title against Steve Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the UFC 301 main event May 4 in Rio. If he gets past Erceg, Pantoja is open to moving up to challenge O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC).

“I can fight at 135, definitely,” Pantoja told MMA Junkie. “But everybody knows I’m small. I’m not too big, you know. I’m really a flyweight guy, and I’m just thinking about going to the bantamweight to fight with O’Malley. That’s a good history I have with him.”

Pantoja praised O’Malley for his shutout of Marlon Vera at UFC 299. He clarified that moving up to 135 pounds would solely be for a fight with O’Malley.

“He looked perfect,” Pantoja said of O’Malley. “How ‘Chito’ keeps fighting at that pace, that’s crazy, you know. The knees O’Malley throwing at ‘Chito,’ ‘Chito’ is very tough guy, brother. He’s tough. He wants to fight, but he don’t find the range with O’Malley.

“I find his reach when I trained with O’Malley. It’s not a big problem for me. …Maybe after the second title defense I’m very open for that opportunity, but just for O’Malley. I don’t want to go through the bantamweight and fight with some Umar Nurmagomedov.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Sean O’Malley’s coach: Merab Dvalishvili deserves UFC title shot, ‘getting ready for a problem like that will be fun’

Tim Welch considers Merab Dvalishvili most deserving of a shot at UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley and welcomes the challenge.

Tim Welch sees [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] as the most deserving for a shot at UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag].

O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) called out featherweight champ Ilia Topuria after retaining his title against Marlon Vera earlier this month at UFC 299. The callout upset Dvalishvili, who’s on a 10-fight winning streak and fresh off a win over Henry Cejudo.

O’Malley later said he’s willing to face Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next, and his head coach, Welch, thinks it’s the fight to make.

“Both the fights are just so scary,” Welch said on the “MIGHTYcast” podcast. “Fight Ilia, you make a mistake with Ilia, you’re going to lay there flat on your back unconscious. Merab, it’s like he’s five rounds. He’s going to come in there, and he’s not going to be afraid to try to cover the distance and shoot like we said.

“I think they’re both just such huge problems, but I think Merab. I think Merab deserves it. He’s won 10 fights in a row, 10 fights in a row in the UFC. Getting ready for a problem like that will be fun, and if we can knock him flat and turn his nose sideways, that’ll feel good.”

Welch acknowledges that Dvalishvili’s danger comes from his heart and cardio. He sees O’Malley having his way on the feet, but doesn’t expect Dvalishvili to cave.

“I think Merab’s the type to have the balls to just say, ‘F*ck it, go, I’m going no matter what, I don’t care,'” Welch said. “He probably will get cracked hard coming in. We’ll see if he can wear it, but he is that type to just say, ‘F*ck it’ and go.”

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Sean O’Malley goes off on ‘fake-ass b*tch’ Marlon Vera for UFC 299 greasing accusation

UFC champ Sean O’Malley went off on Marlon Vera for accusing him of greasing in their rematch.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] went off on [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] for accusing him of greasing at UFC 299.

Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) avenged his loss to Vera (21-9-1 MMA, 15-8 UFC) by battering him for five rounds in their title fight earlier this month in Miami. Vera said fighting O’Malley was “like grabbing a fish out of the water” during Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” and accused him of putting something in his hair.

O’Malley fired back by saying Vera’s claim is irrelevant. “Chito” attempted zero takedowns, so the fight played out predominantly standing.

“I don’t get the whole ‘Chito’ thing,” O’Malley said on his “TimboSugarShow” podcast. “Everyone seems to love this dude. The motherf*cker is a fake-ass b*tch. ‘Chito’ sucks. F*ck him. I know sh*t that people don’t know that would change their minds on him, but I’m not going to go out there and post it.

“The DM sh*t was real. I was in his f*cking head. I was his brain. I was thinking for him. F*ck that guy. Then he comes out saying I’m greasing my hair. You didn’t even get close enough to smell my hair, let alone – what was grease in my hair going to do?”

There’s no indication as to what O’Malley is referring to when it comes to Vera’s personal life, but he refrained from elbaorating. The pair mentioned that DMs were exchanged during fight week.

“I’m just like, ‘Be the bigger man. You don’t need to ruin his f*cking life. You already ruined his career,'” O’Malley added. “Just be the bigger man.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

Teddy Atlas: Sean O’Malley’s standup would beat many pro boxers

Teddy Atlas had very high praise for Sean O’Malley after UFC 299.

Teddy Atlas had very high praise for [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] after UFC 299.

Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) notched his first title defense when he battered Marlon Vera for five rounds this past Saturday at UFC 299.

O’Malley has mentioned crossing over to boxing numerous times, calling out the likes of Gervonta Davis, and recently going back-and-forth with Ryan Garcia. Legendary boxing trainer Atlas went as far as saying O’Malley could get the best of many professional boxers.

“I’m not going to call him a striker. I think he would beat a lot of pro fighters,” Atlas said on THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas. “He would beat a lot of pro boxers – he’s that good at boxing. His legs are that good. His striking ability, his combinations are that technically sound and that pure. His hands are that fast. His ring IQ is that high.

“His vision is that clear – he sees everything, and he’s a tremendous counter puncher, a pure counter puncher. … He’s got a long jab, and he uses that long jab to set up punches. He knows range really well. He controls range really well – not only with his feet, but even with getting full length on his punches. He gets full extension.”

Atlas also saw a lot of improvements in O’Malley’s game, referencing a quote he often likes to use to describe his performance.

“Cus D’Amato told me, ‘Teddy, when a guy wins the title, he automatically becomes 30 percent better,'” Atlas said. “You know what? That’s scary because O’Malley looked 30 percent (better) – that much more solid, that much more consistent, that much more together. He has improved.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.