Few days after losing his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley seems to have found his next opponent, except this one definitely has better hands than him. Following a ridiculous back and forth on Twitter, ‘Suga’ has dismissed the $1 million offer and challenged “dumba**” boxer Devin Haney to a fight with MMA rules.
This feud started when Haney took to the social media website to throw shade at the former bantamweight champion for losing his title at the UFC Noche. Infuriated at the tweet, O’Malley then challenged the boxer to a MMA fight and promised to put $1 million of his own money to do it.
Boxing, of course, is unionized, unlike UFC, which makes it possible for boxers to make a truck load of money after getting a lion’s share of everything once they lace on their gloves and walk into the ring. So a million dollars would chump change for the men with the bigger gloves.
Haney essentially reminded O’Malley of that asked him to box with him and have the chance to make some real money.
It wasn’t a bad offer either. There comes a time in every mildly successful mixed martial artist signed to Dana White’s UFC when they realize this $5ok Fight of the Night bonuses aren’t cutting it. Then they decide to start feuds with boxers and hopefully that materializes into a big boxing match, sometimes half way around the world in a desert, sometime under the flashy lights of Vegas.
This allows them to rake in million and be set for life. So, Haney’s offer is not a bad one. As a matter of fact, ‘Suga’ has been angling for a fight with boxer Ryan Garcia for years now, feuding with the 26-year-old for years now.
But it seems Haney mocking loss to Dvalishvili stuck a cord as the former UFC champ not only crapped all over the idea but also called out Haney to fight for fun.
But before any of this even materializes, if it materializes, O’Malley has a doctor’s appointment.
O’Malley to go under the knife
No, it’s not to get those face tattoos removed. ‘Suga’ has a bad hip and is getting that fixed on October 3. The former UFC champion will have the labrum in his hip repaired, which will see him be out of action for months owing to recovery and physical therapy.
Speaking at his won podcast about the surgery he said,
“I’m going to take two, three months of full just physically therapy. Recovery like a f**king pro. Eat good. Sleep good…I’m excited. (I’m) 29. By the time I fight again I’ll be 30. I think 30 to 35 I’ll be in my prime. We’ve got a lot of years left and big fights.”
By the time he returns, the landscape at bantamweight might have changed, especially now that a top predator from the Nurmagomedov clan seems to be on the prowl for UFC gold.
However, ‘Suga’ is not worried. Right now, for the 29-year-old, it’s about recovery and healing, perhaps both physically and mentally.
“In a year, nine months, or whatever it is when I come around to fight again, who’s going to be relevant, who’s going to be in the right spot, who’s going to be champ, so it’s pointless to think who is next right now… I almost don’t even want to think about that, or think about fighting. Just literally focus on the family, focus on healing, and get back better than ever.”
Hopefully when O’Malley comes back, he can get back up on the ladder and reach for the top spot, no matter who sits there at the time. He certainly has the ability to pull off a few more rabbits out of a few more hats.
