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SEAN O’MALLEY: EVERYTHING FEELS AS IT SHOULD
Bantamweight Champ Discusses Doubters, Vengeance, Walking Last Ahead Of UFC 299 Clash With Marlon Vera In Miami
Ahead of his bantamweight title shot at UFC 292 last summer in Boston, Sean O’Malley fully understood why people questioned his strength of schedule and place in the main event pairing opposite Aljamain Sterling.
Sean O'Malley | Top Finishes
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Sean O'Malley | Top Finishes
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The only truly marquee win on his resume came against former champ Petr Yan, but as “Suga” said at the time, “You don’t beat Petr Yan if you’re not as good as I am… Petr isn’t a guy you just accidentally beat.”
Then, on a sticky August evening at TD Garden Arena, O’Malley knocked out Sterling in the second round to become UFC bantamweight champion, and yet, as he readies to defend his title for the first time this weekend against rival Marlon “Chito” Vera in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami, the current ruler of the 135-pound ranks still feels like there are plenty of people out there that refuse to accept him as a legitimate superstar talent.
“I still think there are a lot of people out there that don’t respect me as the champion or think I’m as good as I am. I get it; it’s fine,” began O’Malley, who looks to avenge the lone loss of his career on Saturday night at Kaseya Center, seemingly understanding the persisting tendency to question his standing atop the division and the skills that got him there.
“Actually, I don’t get it,” he said, quickly correcting himself. “I go out there and beat Petr Yan — yeah it was a close fight, but I was supposed to get smoked. It wasn’t supposed to be a close fight, and the fact that it was made a lot of people angry. Then I go out there and knock out Aljamain Sterling, the best bantamweight of all-time, and still, you hear people, ‘Yeah, you haven’t fought this guy, you haven’t fought that guy.’ Aljamain was the hardest matchup in the division for me, and I slept him in two rounds.
“It’s still out there. I go beat Chito, he’s ranked No. 6 and it’s gonna be, ‘Yeah, but Merab is next.’ Sweet! I go out there and knock him out, ‘Who’s next?’
“I still feel disrespected as the champ,” conceded O’Malley, finally articulating his true thoughts on the matter. “The greats understand how good I am, but the average people don’t understand how good I am. They will someday, but right now they don’t.”
Part of that disbelief comes from the fact that — as the 29-year-old titleholder has routinely acknowledged in the past — his path to the top of the bantamweight ranks felt like it was being carefully crafted, with favorable matchups free from dates against the Murderer’s Row of talent that has long occupied the Top 15 in the 135-pound ranks.
But part of it also comes from the fact that from the moment he knocked out Alfred Khashakyan on the second episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, O’Malley has carried himself like a superstar and marched to the beat of his own drum; one that is playing a rhythm many people just don’t like.
While there are certainly some that have gravitated to the technicolor striker because of his social media presence and presentation — the style, the flash, the lifestyle he lives — there are others that look see all those things and cannot get past them and cannot believe that person is the top man in one of the best divisions in the UFC.
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“I’ve been doing this s*** for 13 years — it’s not overnight or by accident,” offered O’Malley, who left his home state of Montana to go all-in on his MMA dreams at 19, moving to Arizona to train at The MMA Lab alongside his current head coach and fellow Montana native Tim Welch. “It’s been consistent hard work over the years.
“I don’t know if people just can’t get past the face tattoos or the hair or what it is — that I’m a tall, skinny guy. I don’t know what it is, but when it’s all said and done and I’m done fighting, people will go back, look at my career, and realize I was special.”
Sean O'Malley Sits Down With Megan Olivi Ahead Of UFC 299 | ESPN MMA
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Sean O'Malley Sits Down With Megan Olivi Ahead Of UFC 299 | ESPN MMA
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The people that still cannot accept O’Malley as the champion and a sublime talent will surely bristle at the final piece of that sentence — his insistence that he’s special, or will be considered such by the end of his career — but given what he’s accomplished and the commitment he has to achieving his dreams and honing his craft, it feels foolhardy to doubt O’Malley at this point.
When he started down this path as a wiry kid with a mop of brown hair and a dream, this is where he envisioned himself standing, and nine years after making his pro debut and seven years after touching down in the Octagon for the first time, O’Malley is the UFC bantamweight champion.
But even he believes he’s still got some work to do in order to really, truly cement his standing atop the division.
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“Yeah, I agree that you’ve gotta defend the belt to be the champ,” he said when asked about the longstanding idea that a fighter isn’t truly a champion until they’ve successfully defended their title at least once. “Statistically, in reality, I’m the champ right now — I beat Aljamain Sterling, I have the belt, I am the champ, but I always think defending the belt really cements that.
“You can’t really argue (otherwise) after you go and defend it against a few people, so I like that — defend the belt before you really cement your champ status.”
This weekend in Miami, the skilled striker not only gets the opportunity to potentially defend his title for the first time, but also to perhaps avenge the lone loss of his career, as well.
O’Malley and Vera first crossed paths as ascending talents looking to continue their rise in the bantamweight division at UFC 252 in August 2020; the former entering with a 12-0 record and four straight UFC victories, the latter having dropped a close decision to Song Yadong in his previous appearance that snapped a five-fight winning streak.
MMA Coaches Break Down O'Malley vs Vera 2
Early in the contest, Vera landed a seemingly innocuous low kick to O’Malley’s right calf, catching the peroneal nerve and deadening his foot. Throughout the rest of the round, O’Malley struggled to plant and fire off his right foot, stumbling repeatedly, and when Vera and his corner finally recognized the issue, the Ecuadorean cranked up the pressure.
When O’Malley stumbled to the canvas in the final minute of the round, Vera pounced, chasing him to the floor and unloading a series of elbows that prompted referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.
UFC 299 Breakdown | Sean O'Malley vs Marlon "Chito" Vera
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UFC 299 Breakdown | Sean O'Malley vs Marlon "Chito" Vera
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For a while, O’Malley refused to acknowledge the defeat, declaring himself still undefeated despite the stoppage loss on his resume. Even now, he’s dismissive of the setback, but as soon as he claimed the title, there was only one person he targeted for his first defense — Vera.
“This fight isn’t any different than the Aljo fight or any fights before it,” he said when asked about the tension between the two and his desire to get one back from the challenger on Saturday night in South Florida. “It is a little more personal, I guess you could say. It’s a little different, but it’s competition.
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“I don’t wanna lose to anyone, but I guess losing to Chito this fight would definitely sting a little more,” he continued, again inching towards his true feelings on the matter the more he lingered on the subject. “You could say I don’t like this guy, so I guess it’s a little bit different, but I’m gonna go out there and smoke this dude, so it is what it is.
“I don’t feel like he has s*** on me. Him and I both know that fight isn’t a win in his book, so I don’t feel like (I need to get one back). I think, for me, I know how I have to feel and think going into a fight — I have to be calm, so I’m not bringing any of that (tension) into the Octagon.”
In addition to being an opportunity to gain a measure of vengeance against Vera and successfully defend his title, cementing his status as the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion, Saturday’s event is also the first time that O’Malley is truly, officially the star of the show, as he’ll be the last man making the walk to the Octagon.
It’s another little milestone moment in a fighter’s career, another checkpoint on the journey towards all-time great status, but for the confident and focused titleholder, it also feels normal.
“Yeah, this is technically the first time I’m the main event, walking last, since last fight, I walked first,” conceded O’Malley. “But ever since I fought Thomas Almeida, Eddie Wineland, even Chito the first time — I’ve been the main event in my head and to a lot of people.
“I might not be the last fight, but I’ve always felt like I was the main event. I always thought I was one of the most exciting people on the card, and I think you’ve got to think like that when you’re in my position.
“So this just feels normal,” he added. “It feels like another day at the office; feels like it should be like this.”
Welcome to the new normal in the bantamweight division.
Welcome, officially, to The Suga Show.
UFC 299: O'Malley vs Vera 2 took place live from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on March 9, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
