UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley isn’t headlining UFC 280, but believes he’s the “star of the show” nonetheless. On a card that features two title fights, O’Malley claimed on his YouTube channel that he’s the real draw.
“No [they haven’t mentioned anything about being a replacement]. I don’t know. What if T.J. [Dillashaw] f****** stubs his toe or sits on a needle or something randomly happens? I don’t know, you never know what could happen. Maybe me and Petr will have to fight for that spot and just fight the guy next.
Sean O’Malley on UFC 280: “I’m The Star of the Show!”
They wouldn’t do that to me. They would scratch that title fight before they’d scratch my fight, if I had to guess. I’m a bigger star, dude. And that’s just a total guess, obviously, my opinions are very extreme and some people don’t like them.”
Sharing the bill with O’Malley’s scheduled bout against former bantamweight champ Petr Yan is another bantamweight clash between current champion Aljamain Sterling and another former champ, T.J. Dillashaw. Sean O’Malley believes that his star power and underdog status – ranked no.10 compared to Yan’s no.1 – makes his fight far more lucrative, and far more exciting for the promotion.
Sean O’Malley, with a win over Petr Yan, probably could force his way into the bantamweight title conversation. However, considering the depth of talent in the division, and the sheer number of former champions currently populating its rankings, this is far from guaranteed. What is guaranteed, if you ask “Suga” Sean O’Malley, is his ascent to headliner.
“I’m very close to a point where I’m not gonna be anything but a main event. And I’m not gonna be a main event that makes a couple $100,000. I’m gonna be a main event that’s making millions.
Some people can go main event cards and be the ‘star’ of the show and s***, but I’m still getting paid more than them. So, when I’m main event, when I’m the star of the show, I want it and I think I will be rewarded. I want them to be like, ‘Damn, this motherf****** earned this much money.’ So, I don’t want to be main eventing like some of these dorks and getting $100,000 or whatever.”
O’Malley has already made himself into one of the most bankable fighters on the UFC roster, so his confidence is well-placed. Do you think he’s the star of the show at UFC 280? Let us know in the comments.
