There are a lot of rumors surrounding the return of Conor McGregor. Whilst ‘The Notorious’ and UFC President claim that the Irishman might return in this calendar year. A lot of fans and fighters are wondering how they would be able to fulfill the USADA obligations. Despite the doubts, Dana White’s favorite fighter Sean O’Malley is quite excited about the former UFC lightweight champion’s return. However, there was a time when O’Malley straight away refused to share the stage with the biggest superstar for a UFC fight.
Sean O’Malley is going to have his first title shot and main event fight against UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. ‘Funkmaster’ is looking to make his fourth title defense against ‘Sugar’. He is also looking to mount closer to the UFC PFP #1 position.
Similarly, Conor McGregor is also going to put his name back in the mixer. McGregor talks about how his comeback fight will be against Michael Chandler. However, he is also flirting with many other opponents. The wind is flowing in the direction of McGregor appearing for the last card of UFC in 2023 at UFC 296.
Sean O’Malley makes a U-turn on Conor McGregor UFC 296
‘Sugar’ aims to dethrone Aljamain Sterling who according to him is the toughest fighter in the bantamweight division. If Sean were to defeat Sterling and Marlon “Chito” Vera wins, he would like to defend his title against Vera at UFC 296. According to rumors that’s the card McGregor and UFC are aiming for the Irishman’s return to the octagon. Sean appeared on the Full Send Podcast, during the podcast he spoke about his next fight.
Sean said, “He [Conor McGregor] recently said he wants [Michael] Chandler in December. I don’t know with this USADA sh*t, I don’t know about all that but I would love that. I mean I’m trying to get on that card too. So Chandler-McGregor December, I mean I don’t know who has to sign off on that. I don’t know if that’s USADA saying no you literally can not fight or if it’s alright Chandler has to sign off, I don’t know.“
O’Malley believes that when McGregor enters the USADA testing pool, it will be publicly available to check. What’s more, O’Malley’s coach Tim also revealed that he is a fan of McGregor’s Twitter antics. However, there was a time when O’Malley refused to be on the same card as McGregor.
O’Malley once refused to fight on the same card as McGregor
O’Malley once sat down for an interview with Helen Lee. During his conversation with Lee, O’Malley revealed that he doesn’t want the Irishman to steal his thunder. That’s he would prefer to fight on a non-McGregor card.
O’Malley said, “You know, I would rather fight with less attention on the card. I would rather fight like on a non-Conor card, because no matter what even if I go out there and perform beautifully, and Conor breaks his foot or whatever, all the [media sites], ESPN, Sports Center, everything’s going to pick up Conor [McGregor]…“
It is interesting to know that O’Malley has changed his stance on sharing the stage with ‘Mystic Mac’. Despite revealing that McGregor inspired him to be the star he is today, he wants to create his own legacy and wants to grow independent of McGregor. Do you think we will see them both fight at UFC 296?
