UFC CEO, Dana White, is quite eager to host an event at the Las Vegas Sphere. However, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley isn’t into this idea. During a conversation on the YouTube show ‘The Fighter and The Kid,’ hosted by Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen, ‘Sugar’ revealed his reasons behind not wanting to fight at the Sphere
Dana White will supposedly go ahead with his plans as several reports claim he has managed to rent The Sphere for the upcoming UFC 306. There is also a possibility of O’Malley being a part of the event’s headliner. However, the 29-year-old was extremely uninterested in the event and even talked about turning the opportunity down.
O’Malley counted the “weird setup” at the Las Vegas Sphere as one of the reasons behind his disdain for the venue. On top of it, he insisted that Dana White and Hunter Campbell won’t have him for the event if the arena has a “small cage”. ‘Sugar’ said,
“I know that The Sphere’s a weird arena and a weird setup. But if it’s a small cage, count me out. I’m not fighting in a small fuc*ing cage.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that O’Malley has showcased his distaste towards fighting in a smaller cage. He even predicted that the smaller cage at UFC Apex would hinder bantamweight fighter Cory Sandhagen’s performance.
Sean O’Malley predicted Cory Sandhagen to be at a disadvantage due to the smaller UFC Apex cage
UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen was scheduled to take on O’Malley’s previous rival, Marlon Vera, at UFC Fight Night 222 on 18 February 2023. ‘Sugar’ was asked to speak about the fight, which is when he first expressed his dislike towards fighting in a smaller cage.
The octagon at UFC Apex, with a 25′ diameter and 518 sq. ft area, is almost 44% smaller in area than the ones used for UFC PPVs. O’Malley opined that Sandhagen may face the cons of the smaller octagon due to his ‘always-in-motion’ style of fighting. The 29-year-old is also viewing himself at a similar disadvantage if he chooses to fight in the Las Vegas Sphere cage at UFC 306.
