With his return this weekend at UFC 316, Sean O’Malley has the chance to join an exclusive list. The list includes the likes of elite fighters like Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. That is, if O’Malley gets things right in the Octagon coming Saturday, according to color-caller Daniel Cormier.
O’Malley, who headlines this weekend’s return to New Jersey, takes on rival Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley appears as the challenger to Dvalishvili’s bantamweight championship title.
Coming unstuck for just the second time in his professional career last September, O’Malley dropped his bantamweight crown in a hard-fought, unanimous decision defeat to dominant grappler Dvalishvili in a high-profile UFC Noche outing.
Headlining the promotion’s premiere Las Vegas Sphere card, O’Malley played his part in turning it into a record-setting gate receipts north of $27.7 million. This weekend will headline his fourth consecutive card for the promotion.
Sporting a new look ahead of UFC 316, sans rainbow-hair for his title re-run with Tbilisi native, Dvalishvili, Montana striker, O’Malley is confident of righting the wrongs that saw him lose his crown.
As far as Cormier is concerned, O’Malley is sporting a much more “measured” figure ahead of his fight. If he wants to join the elite list of McGregor and Mayweather as far as star power is concerned, O’Malley must first get back on the winning track against Dvalishvili. From then on, he must turn in another dominant winning run.
“You see Sean O’Malley, and he’s much more measured,” Cormier told ESPN. “And he’s much more calm and patient today. For him to go back to that superstar level, he’s first off got to just win. The only time we have seen him struggle in that manner was against the champion, Merab Dvalishvili. And he looks so good against ‘Chito’ (Marlon Vera). And he looks so good against Aljamain (Sterling).
“As you compare him to Conor and Floyd Mayweather, part of the reason he fought at this fear while injured was because he wanted to be like those guys,” Cormier added. “The big gates, the record-breaking gates. The events he said he’s kind of let that go, but for him to make the life that he wants, he’s got to get some part of that back. And that starts with a victory on Saturday.”
O’Malley had always been open about taking inspiration from McGregor. The challenger recently revealed that he and the Dubliner are now on good terms, having squashed their bizarre beef.
Sean O’Malley is happy to have Conor McGregor’s blessing
Wishing O’Malley well in his return against Dvalishvili this weekend, McGregor noted the similarities in the re-run to his preparation for his rematch with Nate Diaz back in 2016 at UFC 202.
But notably locking heads in recent months, O’Malley happily revealed this week how he and the former two-weight champion are on more than just speaking terms, having ended their feud.
