Following in the footsteps of many new champions, Sean
O’Malley is already eyeing two-division glory going into his
first bantamweight title defense.
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“Sugar” is scheduled to defend his strap against Marlon Vera
(23-8) in the main event at UFC
299 on March 9. The UFC bantamweight champ has already called
out newly crowned featherweight champ Ilia
Topuria as a next potential opponent. Furthermore, O’Malley
claims that the UFC brass and his team have also discussed the
possibility of a clash against “El Matador” at The Sphere in Las
Vegas where the promotion is planning a one-of-a-kind event in
September.
“I’ve kind of been putting this out there, I’ve text Dana, text
Hunter multiple times, said it on podcasts, said it in interviews,
Me vs. Ilia in September in Vegas at the Sphere, Mexican
Independence Day, I got the Mexican flag right here. Let’s make it
happen. I think that would be the next fight if all goes to plan,”
O’Malley told ESPN.
Topuria has already dismissed the idea of defending his belt
against featherweight contenders who have lost to Alexander
Volkanovski, whom the Spaniard dethroned via knockout at
UFC 298 last month. While he initially didn’t show much
interest in O’Malley’s callout, “El Matador” recently hinted at a
potential matchup.
Me vs Suga. Who wants to see it ?
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia)
March 1, 2024
Meanwhile, O’Malley has been criticized for making his first
defense against Vera in order to avenge a 2020 loss. Justifying his
decision, the Phoenix, Arizona native reasons that fighting the
bigger draw only makes sense in prizefighting.
“I like having options. At the end of the day, what’s the biggest
fight? I am a prize fighter. I like making money. Why would I go
fight, ‘Oh, this guy’s a f—-ing killer, but you’re gonna make less
money.’ Or I go fight this guy who’s a f—-ing killer too and make
way more money. So, I’m in the business of making money.”
Speaking of options, the name of surging contender Umar
Nurmagomedov cannot be avoided for O’Malley. While he
acknowledges Nurmagomedov as arguably the toughest matchup in the
division, he wants to wait for the Dagestani standout to attain
stardom.
“People think I’m avoiding tough fights. Umar is probably the
toughest fight, and yeah, I’ve been bringing his name up – but it
also has to make sense. Umar isn’t a star at all,” O’Malley said.
“There’s potential to be a star/superstar. I believe I’m a
superstar. I believe ‘Chito’ [Vera] is a star. I believe Umar is a
potential superstar, literally because he has the last name
Nurmagomedov. I’ve never watched the dude fight. I’ve watched some
highlights. He’s very skilled. He trains at a good gym. His last
name is Nurmagomedov. He’s Russian. He has potential because of
that.
“I lied – I think I’ve watched him fight some dude where he kneed
him in the lips, so I’ve watched him fight once. I feel like just
with the name and the skill of the UFC being able to promote
certain people, and he comes from that gym – Khabib [Nurmagomedov],
I think they train together; he’ll be in his corner. O’Malley –
Irish … it’s there. There’s something there. If he can become a
star with that, that’s the fight I want, too. I don’t want just the
easiest fight. I want the biggest fight, and if I have two options
and one guy I think is a little bit better of a challenge, I’ll
take that one.”