Sean
O’Malley has been earmarked for stardom ever since the “Sugar
Show” arrived on
Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017.
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The question is, how high can he climb? According to the reigning
UFC bantamweight champion, he’s already near the top of the
mountain. During UFC
306 media day on Wednesday, O’Malley acknowledged that Conor
McGregor remains the promotion’s biggest draw. However, the
Irishman’s lack of activity and success has made him a more
attainable target in recent years.
„I think I’m close [to catching McGregor],“ O’Malley said. „I think
Conor still has one more big fight in him, but the big question
mark is if he can come back and beat Michael
Chandler. I think Conor has one more huge fight. But if he goes
out and loses his next fight, that’s like six in a row or
something? [His star power] has to die down eventually. Maybe not.
But that’s a big testament to how big of a star he is. If he loses,
I’m there. I’m the guy. I’m the No. 1.”
O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order
Now!
O’Malley has fought five times since McGregor broke his leg in a
loss against Dustin
Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. McGregor was supposed to
return to action against Chandler at UFC 303 in June, but a broken
toe delayed his comeback yet again. That, O’Malley says, is a big
difference between him and the former two-division champion.
“I bring fights,” O’Malley said. “I fight – often. I think that’s
what it is right now. Conor was good on the mic. The accent, the
words that he chose, he was very good on the mic. Performances, he
had a couple good performances. But I’m just consistent right now.
I’m fighting a lot. That’s what I bring.”
O’Malley will headline the promotion’s highly anticipated
pay-per-view offering opposite Merab
Dvalishvili at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Due
to the unique nature of the venue, the card has drawn plenty of
interest heading into the event. If O’Malley delivers against
Dvalishvili on Saturday, that should open the door to a wide range
of possibilities for his next fight. That includes the likes of
Umar
Nurmagomedov, Deiveson
Figueiredo and Ilia
Topuria, but O’Malley isn’t commiting to anything just yet with
an opponent in front of him.
“There’s options. Right now it’s pointless,” he said. “I’ve got to
get out there and take care of Merab. We’ve got options after.”