There was one thing missing from Sean
O’Malley’s lopsided victory over Marlon Vera
in the UFC
299 main event.
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“Something about not getting the finish doesn’t sit right with me,”
O’Malley said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “It was
just like, ‘f—k.’ But I also haven’t watched it. Once I watch
it back, I think I’ll get a little bit more excited. I aways want
to get that finish.”
To be fair, nobody has finished Vera in 33 professional fights.
Still, there was plenty to like about O’Malley’s performance
outside of that, as he avenged a previous loss to “Chito” with a
striking masterclass over 25 dominant minutes.
“I knew I was better than this guy for three and a half years,”
O’Malley said. “I knew the first fight was a fluke. I proved that,
and it felt good.”
At the conclusion of the event, UFC CEO Dana White praised
O’Malley, calling the Arizona native the biggest star in
bantamweight history. Meanwhile, O’Malley himself was impressed
with the energy inside the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday
night, with dueling fan bases going head-to-head during the main
event — and even during the pre-fight press conference.
“It’s incredible. So weird to be me right now,” he said. “Being
able to stand there and listen to that and perform for the people.
If it wasn’t for the fans, if it wasn’t for the media to cover this
sport, I wouldn’t be in this position. It’s really, really
cool.”
As for his own star power, O’Malley is confident he’s on the right
track.
“I think I’m creeping up there. I’m getting up there,” he said. “At
the end of the day, the UFC doesn’t need anyone. They’re gonna find
stars, they’re gonna put on crazy fights regardless. But I think
I’m working my way up to one of the biggest names in the
sport.”
O’Malley hasn’t been shy about his desire to face recently-crowned
featherweight champion Ilia
Topuria. That doesn’t mean he’ll reject a title defense at 135
pounds against top contender Merab
Dvalishvili, however. It just means he’s on the hunt for the
biggest fight possible.
“Moving up to [featherweight], that’s champ vs. champ automatically
is huge,” he said. “He [Topuria] just knocked out Alexander
Volkanovski, that’s massive. It’s just an exciting fight. I’m
here for massive fights. That’s what I want to be a part of. If
that’s it, sweet. If Merab’s it, sweet. I like having options.”
O’Malley can already see a day when fighting for a belt is
secondary. That’s what true stardom can do in this sport.
“We’ll go with the flow. If it happens, I feel like I could move up
to [145],” he said. “I’m gonna get to a point to where I don’t even
need the belt, I’m bigger than the belt. I’m the main event at 140,
142.5 just for f—ing fun. I’m getting to that point.
“The belt’s cool but once you get to a certain point, you can main
event and just kind of fight. Look, Conor [McGregor] was
[145-pound] champ fighting at 170 [against Nate Diaz]. I
want to get there.”