Sean O’Malley has double-champ aspirations in mind.
The lighter weight classes in the UFC are arguably more interesting than ever, particularly in the bantamweight division, which is now run by the “Sugar Show.” As the biggest star to ever come out of Dana White’s Contender Series, the season one alum O’Malley has lived up to his hype and won UFC gold this past August when he scored a second-round TKO over Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley, 29, officially has his first title defense lined up in the form of a rematch with the only man to defeat him in his 19-fight career (17-1, 1 NC), Marlon “Chito” Vera. The rivals will collide in the UFC 299 main event on March 9, which comes roughly one month after the featherweight title is fought over between divisional champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Ilia Topuria. Should Topuria and O’Malley come out of their fights victorious, “Sugar” expects a champion vs. champion showdown.
“If he goes out there and beats ‘Volk’, and I go out there and beat ‘Chito,’ that fight’s happening next,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugar Show podcast. “That’s just what’s happening.”
The banter between the promotional stars recently heated up — somewhat randomly —after O’Malley called Topuria his “Eddie” on Twitter. It was a reference to when Conor McGregor won his second divisional title by moving up in weight to defeat the then-lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016. O’Malley has hinted at bigger goals than just being a defending champion going forward, and it appears that he hopes to waste little time to achieve them.
Topuria and O’Malley’s online interaction essentially ended with Topuria saying he was off to focus on his task at hand and “didn’t care” about the bantamweight champion. From O’Malley’s perspective, it all feels like a recurring theme throughout his career thus far.
“Something I’ve never understood ... I’m clearly, whether you guys f****** agree or not, UFC thinks so, I’m a potentially massive star already,” O’Malley said. “If Ilia thinks I’m an easy fight — who’s a bigger fight than me? Conor would be a bigger fight, yes. Conor’s not gonna fight Ilia. Conor literally, probably doesn’t [know who he is] — maybe he does. Ilia’s f****** sick. I like watching him fight. He’s very dangerous, very skilled.
“But if I’m an easy fight for these guys, I don’t know why — it was back in the day when I was calling out Dominick Cruz, calling out Cody Garbrandt, they were like, ‘He sucks, I’m not gonna fight him.’ Why not fight the guy who’s an easy fight with the big mouth and big name? Why not? I don’t get it.”
Prediction. Michael Chandler: ‘I finish Conor within the first two rounds ... probably end his career’
Champ. Arnold Allen unsure of Alex Volkanovski’s quick turnaround: ‘I’d hate to see his legacy fall apart because of a silly decision’
Expectation. Bo Nickal on Khamzat Chimaev after recent victory: ‘I feel like that’s a fight that I win’
Finale. Chris Weidman admits his body is ‘just taking a beating’ in recent years: ‘This could be my last fight’
Goals. Manel Kape plans revenge tour for ‘boring’ Matheus Nicolau, champ Alexandre Pantoja
Between the Links.
Top Finishes from UFC Vegas 84 fighters.
UFC Connected: Marcus McGhee.
Kayla’s lone venture outside PFL.
A tour with Adesanya.
Zombie Trip.
Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck reacts to Dana White announcing first title fight for UFC 300.
The troll off.
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) January 11, 2024
Fumbler.
"He got lucky last time.”
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 11, 2024
“He won't be able to block out the noise this time."
“He can’t do it again, can he?”
We’ll see. Camp has started. #JoshuaNgannou pic.twitter.com/iUhQ1lOHzO
No thanks.
I was supposed to headline UFC200
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) January 11, 2024
Headline UFC300 would be better pic.twitter.com/lBWkn41Ao3
Opportunity.
I am so way too excited to be fighting in front of @danawhite next Friday https://t.co/9ViOnJz4HP
— Tom Theocharis (@tommytheo93) January 11, 2024
Well, alright.
Injury.
Im out of the fight against moreno 24th of february. I have been dealing with a serious neck injury the past weeks. After some scans the UFC doctors decided to pull me out of the fight immediately. I want to apologize to the fans and the @ufc. I will be back inshallah
— The Prince (@AmirAlbazi) January 12, 2024
The shoes though.
Sleep tight, Georges.
It is after being deprived of sleep that we realize that sleeping is truly one of the best pleasures in life.
— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) January 12, 2024
Good night!
Things are brewing.
…………. ️
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) January 12, 2024
“It’s good to see you smiling in the gym again brother.” Best words I’ve heard come my way all day…it wasn’t said by Eugene lol. He called me a Dickhead and I called him Fat. Then we hit pads. Great day today!! ✨ pic.twitter.com/Akuba5HPfF
Probably.
He is him… the best Bantamweight in the world? pic.twitter.com/b99vjWjKsN
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) January 12, 2024
Randy Brown (17-5) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-4); UFC Vegas 85, Feb. 3
Brandon Moreno (21-7-2) vs. Brandon Royval (15-7); UFC Mexico, Feb. 24
Trey Ogden (16-6) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (20-7); UFC Vegas 88, March 23
Julio Arce (18-6) vs. Herbert Burns (11-4); UFC Atlantic City, March 30
Alexander Hernandez (14-7) vs. Damon Jackson (22-6-1); UFC Vegas 89, April 6
Norma Dumont (10-2) vs. Germaine de Randamie (10-4); UFC Vegas 89, April 6
Deiveson Figueiredo (22-3-1) vs. Cody Garbrandt (14-5); UFC 300, April 13
As exciting as it could potentially be, I’d be shocked if UFC went ahead and made a Topuria vs. O’Malley champion vs. champion clash right out the gate of a Topuria title run. Bypassing an immediate Volkanovski rematch just wouldn’t happen, and that’s pretty much where the conversation ends.
Happy Friday, everyone. UFC is back. What will be the fight of the night? Thanks for reading! See you Monday.
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
