Sean
O’Malley is set for the toughest test of his promotional tenure
to date, as a matchup with Pedro
Munhoz is in the works for UFC
276.
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ESPN was first to report the bantamweight bout, which is
expected to be finalized soon. UFC 276 takes place on July 2 as
part of International Fight Week and is also expected to include
Robbie
Lawler vs. Bryan
Barberena as well as Miesha Tate
vs. Lauren
Murphy.
After suffering the first loss of his career to Marlon Vera
at UFC 252, O’Malley has rebounded to post KO/TKO triumphs against
Thomas
Almeida, Kris Mouthinho and Raulian
Paiva in his last three promotional appearances. The
27-year-old MMA Lab product is 15-1 over the course of a tenure
that began in 2015.
Munhoz has faced far more difficult opposition than his UFC 276
foe. “Young Punisher” enters the matchup having lost four of his
last five bouts inside the Octagon, including a decision defeat to
Dominick
Cruz at UFC 269. Munhoz owns wins over the likes of Jimmie
Rivera, Cody
Garbrandt, Bryan
Caraway and Rob Font in UFC
competition.