UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley is only weeks away from the biggest fight of his life. O’Malley is set to face former bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC 280, and is promising a show-stopping affair to catapult him to superstardom. O’Malley reflected on the opportunity in front of him on The DC & RC Show.
“Usually I’d say people are hoping I don’t win, but to be honest, I would say the majority of people that think I won’t win actually want me to win.
O’Malley Believes He is About To Reach “Conor Level”
People want a superstar. There’s really no one in the UFC right now that is that Conor level. Me, I go out there and beat Petr in spectacular fashion, I’m climbing. I’m not going to be there yet and I know that, but I’m climbing to become that guy. I want to be the Conor, I don’t want it to be competitive to where it’s like, ‘You’re up there with this.’ I want to be that guy.
And I think the UFC fans want that. They want somebody that they can get super, super excited about, so most people think I’m going to lose but I think the majority of people want me to go out there and win, which is rare, I don’t usually think that, but I do think in this case that’s what it is.”
O’Malley compared this fight to Conor McGregor’s landmark victory over Jose Aldo, which saw McGregor claim the UFC featherweight championship in only thirteen seconds.
“I don’t think I have to go out there and knock Petr Yan out very fast, I don’t have to knock him out in under a minute to get that Jose Aldo moment.
I think just beating Petr—I know how tough he is, I know how good he is. I go out there and beat Petr in a decision, I’m not going to be the most excited, I do want a finish, but beating Petr is a big deal in itself.
I have about 10 more years in this sport, so my Jose Aldo moment, my quick knockout like that, I believe could be anything. You don’t go into a fight expecting to knock anyone out that fast. I would not be surprised if I did that, not to Petr, but to anybody, I believe I’m capable of knocking people out that fast for sure especially if they come in and they make a mistake.
This could be a Jose Aldo moment, not necessarily in knocking him out that fast, but a knockout in spectacular fashion over him in Abu Dhabi, yeah, it could be as big as that.”
Is this the beginning of the O’Malley era? Let us know in the comments.
