UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley sets the record straight.
Sean O’Malley is getting tired of the constant comparisons to Paddy Pimblett, declaring that their recent wins over Petr Yan and Jared Gordon were not the same.
Although both victories were considered controversial, ‘Suga’ fought a much higher-ranked opponent than Pimblett and proved that he belongs in the upper echelon of the UFC, winning over fans with his gutsy performance against a former champion of the sport.
Pimblett, by comparison, struggled against an unranked fighter, with most MMA outlets scoring the bout in favor of Gordon, who has requested an immediate rematch.
During a recent episode of his podcast, O’Malley highlighted the key differences between his win over Yan and Pimblett’s victory over Gordon, being careful not to discredit Pimblett or belittle his latest performance.
“Mine, I fought Petr Yan. I fought the number-one killer. Jared Gordon is good, and he proved that he’s good, but it’s not even in the same conversation,” O’Malley said on his podcast Bromalley (h/t Derek Hall of MMA News). “I’m curious if you rewatch back Paddy vs Gordon if you see it the same way.”
“Because a lot of people, Joe Rogan said it even, he said ‘I rewatched [O’Malley vs Yan], I sat down and rewatched it, and you did win round one and three.’ This, I’m curious if you sit back down and pay attention to it, do you give [it to Pimblett]?”
O’Malley is scheduled to return to the UFC next year to face the winner of the proposed bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo, with both men anticipated to face off in March.
Meanwhile Pimblett is expected to participate in the UFC’s upcoming London pay-per-view event at the O2, which is scheduled for the same month.