UFC bantamweight and rising star Sean O’Malley is dripping with confidence heading into his scheduled bout with one of the most dangerous men in the division. O’Malley is set to fight former bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC 280, and is showing no fear only a few weeks out from the bout. Speaking with Helen Yee, O’Malley declared those expecting a one-sided win for Yan to be “casuals”.
“I think if you asked the smartest guys, the best fighters in the world, ‘What do you guys think?’ They’re like, ‘God, I don’t know. It’s a tough one!’ But if you ask the casuals it’s like, ‘Oh, Petr is going to smoke him. He’s a 3-1 underdog or whatever.’
O’Malley “Surprised” To Be Betting Underdog Against Petr Yan
I’m a little surprised but also I kind of get it from other people’s perspective. But I believe I’m better than Petr Yan, and I believe I’m going to go out there and beat his ass, so I guess I am kind of surprised.”
Sean O’Malley continued, explaining that “high-level fighters” view him as an elite contender. It’s the “casuals” who are distracted by O’Malley’s flashy fighting style and flashier presentation, complete with rainbow hair and extensive social media presence.
“Like I said about the high-level fighters when they talk about me vs. Petr, I think high-level fighters see that I’m a legit motherf*****.
I’m not just fancy and do this crazy s***. I have legitimate skills. So it was really cool. Hearing something like that from Khabib, he’s one of the GOATs, so it was really cool.”
O’Malley is promising to deliver his “best performance ever” at UFC 280. He will need to: his last fight, declared no-contest following a doctor’s stoppage, was an unimpressive affair. O’Malley remembers things differently, but his opponent, Pedro Munhoz, was ahead on all judges’ scorecards when an illegal eye poke by O’Malley ended the fight prematurely.
“I wish this fight was in two weeks, I wish I was in Abu Dhabi right now, I wish it was fight week! I wish I was fighting in five days.
I’m so excited for this opportunity. I believe Petr will bring the best out of me. I thought Pedro Munhoz was going to. People talk about that fight, was blah, blah, blah. He didn’t hit me once. It wasn’t going his way, let’s just say that. But I do think Petr will bring the best out of me and it’s going to be an exciting fight.”
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