In an interview with Michael Bisping, Sean O’Malley shared his thoughts on the potential matchup between current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo.
The No.1-ranked bantamweight contender had some less than positive things to say about Henry Cejudo. With that, he predicted that ‘Funk Master’ would ‘probably choke him out’.
When asked his thoughts on who would win the fight, Sean O’Malley said the following:
“To be honest, I think Aljo probably submits Henry. Who knows how hard Henry’s been training? You know, these last few years he had a baby. I mean, he clearly wasn’t in, like, good shape. You know, every time you saw him at the fights, he looked fat, drunk. So, I don’t know, I think Aljo probably chokes him [out]. I don’t [know] what’s taken them [UFC] so long to book that fight, so I don’t know.”
Sean O’Malley is coming off a split decision victory in what was a three-round war against Petr Yan. Both fighters had shining moments in the bout, and many had Petr Yan winning.
However, Sean O’Malley secured the victory to get the No.1 contender spot in a razor-thin contest.
Catch the full interview below:
Sean O’Malley weighs in on Paddy Pimblett’s victory at UFC 282
Paddy Pimblett secured a controversial unanimous decision victory against Jared Gordon at UFC 282. While O’Malley’s win at UFC 280 was contentious, it paled in comparison to the result of Pimblett vs. Gordon, which drew widespread criticism.
On Michael Bisping’s podcast, ‘Sugar’ compared his fight with Petr Yan to that of Pimblett vs. Gordon. He said the following:
“I know everybody thought it [O’Malley vs. Yan] was a robbery, but no one knew what a robbery was ’till we saw Paddy Pimblett’s fight. So, I think that – to put that in perspective, I think my fight was definitely not a robbery.”
When pressed by Bisping for more detail on his assessment of Pimblett’s win, O’Malley said:
“I was pretty interested in that fight, and I thought he lost, but I even leaned over to my buddy and said, ‘I bet the judges give it to him.'”
While Pimblett will hope to deliver a more emphatic performance when he returns in 2023, O’Malley is eagerly anticipating a shot at gold. ‘Sugar’ expects to face the winner of Sterling vs. Cejudo, which is expected to take place sometime in the first quarter of next year.