Chase
Hooper believes the
UFC is trying to set Sean O’Malley up for a win.
There were originally talks of a potential matchup between O’Malley
and Cory
Sandhagen, who Hooper recently trained with. However, O’Malley
is now booked to fight Aiemann
Zahabi at
UFC White House on June 14.
Advertisement
Hooper believes the UFC has given O’Malley a “layup” with the
Zahabi matchup. Hooper notes that the Canadian is shorter than
O’Malley and a striker, stylistically perfect for “Suga.” While
Zahabi has some wrestling, Hooper believes it’s not on the same
level as elite wrestlers like Merab
Dvalishvili, who beat O’Malley twice. Hooper would have rather
preferred a matchup between O’Malley and Sandhagen.
A Favorable Style
“I think they are trying to give Sean as much of a layup as they
can give him,” Hooper told Home of Fight. “Shorter guy that will strike a
little bit. [Zahabi] wrestles a little bit, but not the same level
as Merab, who [O’Malley] just lost to twice. They’re trying to get
O’Malley a win. But I would have loved to see him and Cory go at
it.”
O’Malley (19-3) won the bantamweight title against Aljamain
Sterling in 2023 and defended it against Marlon Vera
before falling against Dvalishvili in 2024. O’Malley failed to
reclaim his title in a rematch against Dvalishvili last year.
O’Malley has since rebounded with a win over Yadong Song
at UFC 324
this past January. Meanwhile, Zahabi (14-2) is on a seven-fight
winning streak, with wins over the likes of Pedro
Munhoz, Jose Aldo and
Vera.