As the calendar closes in on the biggest MMA extravaganza at The Sphere, Sean O’Malley is embracing his role as a showman, taking on Merab Dvalishvili in a title match in the UFC 306 main event. And it’s this side of O’Malley, the one that knows how to do sell fights, and do business, seems to have impressed many. But it’s something Joe Rogan had spotted in him ages ago.
The bantamweight champ earlier this year sat down with the UFC commentator on his show where he reflected on his business mindset while negotiating with UFC’s Hunter Campbell, and thinking about “numbers and brand deals”.
In fact, unlike other self-drawn fighters who love seclusion, O’Malley is a wild man – always promoting himself with skits and trolls, branding himself as the next big thing in the sport.
Hearing the fighter admitting that he’s enjoying what he’s been doing now, Rogan simply tipped his hat and gave props to the 29-year-old for his efforts.
“That’s great that you enjoy it because for some fighters its like a labor you know and they don’t do it but if you’re excited about it, that’s awesome!”
Now, if you roll back the calendar to a few months, Sean did everything in his power to amp up the hype – mocking “Morab” till he got under his skin – captivating the fandom in the process.
In fact, it was the fighters’ theatrics and fans’ genuine interest in the fight that prompted Dana White to invest $22 million in the promotion’s inaugural event at the Sphere.
He made it a point to be the main event at greatest MMA showdown in history, that is to be hosted on the Mexican Independence Day weekend. He talked so much about it, hyped it so much that Dana White had to give him the main event.
Say what you must about his illusions of being bigger than Conor McGregor among other things, the fact remains that Sean O’Malley literally manifested main eventing at The Sphere!
Of course, he will need his sniper of a right hand to ensure that this trip to LA also furthers his future as a legitimate title defending UFC champion. Joe Rogan, of course, knows all about it.
Rogan was also impressed by O’Malley’s standout performance against former champion, Aljamain Sterling that he dissected how the Montana native’s “perfect” right took out the champion.
Sean O’Malley’s Red Right Hand
Now, if someone is a science geek who is into physics then they might actually know the mechanics of fighting. Torque is the name of the game in fighting, the more one can generate with their shots, from their stance, the more the chance of them knocking out opponents!
For instance, tall lanky fighters like Alex Pereira and O’Malley for that matter can effectively utilize this torque and ultimately become knockout artists.
Think of it as a spring. Not the one in the calendars but the one that’s used in pens, cars and other mechanical objects. One can flick it back and it comes back with the same force it was flicked back. And if it’s big enough and someone’s close enough to it, they could get hurt.
That to and fro at speed in one motion is basically called torque. Google describes it as ‘a force that tends to cause rotation’.
SEAN O'MALLEY KNOCKS OUT ALJAMAIN STERLING 😱
WE HAVE A NEW BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/imITCioq49
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2023
Rogan being an ardent student of the sweet science knows this. So after the 29-year-old captured the belt last year from Sterling with an R2 KO, Rogan dissected the decisive punch during the broadcast-
“What a picture-perfect right hand by Sean O’Malley. It was as pretty as any right hand that’s ever been thrown in the Octagon, look at this timing. That was so sensational, it was so perfect. Look how beautiful this is. This is the reason why you don’t load up, because these shots are available. It’s just the perfect right hand.”
Even though Sean is known to pack a solid right hand, it was his timing that really did the job. As soon as Sterling leaped in, O’Malley timed it, cracking the former champion with a crisp right hand that sent the fellow American crashing face-first down onto the mat.
In fact, Rogan was so impressed by the performance that he drew a comparison of O’Malley’s fight-ending shot to Conor McGregor’s sniper left hand that humbled the great Jose Aldo.
Taking the Irishman’s own words into account –
“Precision beats power, timing beats speed.”
