Set to fight up the official bantamweight rankings for the second bout in a row, surging divisional striker, Sean O’Malley, who currently sits at #13 in the official pile, is set to draw the #10 ranked challenger, Pedro Munhoz in a main card opener of UFC 276 on July 2. The event is scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Montana native, Sean O’Malley is currently riding a three-fight winning spree, having rebounded successfully from his first career loss back at UFC 252 in August 2020 where he dropped a first round ground strikes loss to Marlon Vera.
Sean O’Malley has been urged to take a significant step up in competition recently
Sean O’Malley most recently featured on the main card of UFC 269 back in December, defeating Munhoz’s compatriot, the then-top-15 ranked, Raulian Paiva with a one-sided first round knockout victory.
For Munhoz, the Sao Paulo veteran most recently suffered his second consecutive Octagon loss – also featuring on that December pay-per-view card, in a unanimous decision defeat against former two-time bantamweight best, Dominick Cruz. ESPN MMA reporter, Brett Okamoto was first to report O’Malley’s return against Munhoz.
Before how knockout win over Paiva, O’Malley turned in a bantamweight striking record against short-notice opponent, Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 last July before an eventual third round strikes victory.
The flashy bantamweight striker had successfully returned to the winner’s enclosure against now-promotional alum, Thomas Almeida in March of last year – stopping the Brazilian with a stunning one-punch ground strike knockout win.
Before his defeat to Cruz, Munhoz had met with former featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo in an all-Brazilian outing – suffering an August unanimous decision drubbing.
In his most recent victory, Munhoz avenged a prior career loss to Jimmie Rivera, adding him to a résumé which includes prior successes against the likes of Cody Garbrandt, Brett Johns, and recent UFC Vegas 53 main event feature, Rob Font.