Sean O’Malley has his eyes set on becoming a champ-champ.
O’Malley is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time in the main event of UFC 299 against Marlon Vera. Heading into the fight, ‘Suga’ has been oozing with confidence and believes he will KO Vera to defend his belt with ease.
Not only is Sean O’Malley confident he will beat Marlon Vera at UFC 299, but ‘Suga’ says he plans to attend UFC 298 next Saturday to watch Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title as he wants to face the winner.
“I want to become champ-champ. Ilia just has that face that I would love to f*****g knee him right up the middle, break his little nose,” Sean O’Malley said on Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel. “I’d like to do that, I’ll probably head out to California and watch that fight. Ilia vs. Volk, going to be a f*****g sick fight. When I think of who’s some of the most skilled fighters that I’ve ever watched, Ilia is up there. Ilia is f*****g dangerous, he’s one of the best all-around martial artists, he’s so f*****g skilled. It’s nothing like I think he sucks, he’s very, very f*****g dangerous but I also think I will put his lights out, so it’s a nice mix.”
The hope for Sean O’Malley is Ilia Touria can get past Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, as he already has a rivalry with the featherweight title challenger.
Should both Topuria and O’Malley win their title fights, ‘Suga’ plans for his next fight to be in Las Vegas at The Sphere in September for the featherweight belt as he looks to become champ-champ.
“I want The Sphere in Vegas, Ilia, September, Mexican Independence Day, that is kind of what I’m trying to manifest right now. Obviously, I have to get through f*****g Chito, very tough durable Ecuadorian,” O’Malley added.
Of course, before Sean O’Malley can think about becoming champ-champ, he does need to get past Marlon Vera on March 9 at UFC 299 in Miami.
O’Malley is coming off a second-round knockout over Aljamain Sterling to become the bantamweight champ. To earn the title shot, ‘Suga’ edged out a split decision win over Petr Yan. In his UFC career, O’Malley is 9-1 and one No Contest with his lone loss coming to Vera back in 2020 in a fight he hurt his ankle in.