You can add Sean O’Malley to the list of Daniel Cormier’s commentary critics.
Last week, Daniel Cormier was the subject of criticism for his performance as a UFC commentator by his own colleague, Dominick Cruz. Cormier and Cruz later hashed things …
You can add Sean O’Malley to the list of Daniel Cormier’s commentary critics.
Last week, Daniel Cormier was the subject of criticism for his performance as a UFC commentator by his own colleague, Dominick Cruz. Cormier and Cruz later hashed things out to some degree with the aid of mediator Michael Bisping. Cormier would then go on to call Cruz’s UFC 269 victory over Pedro Munhoz alongside Joe Rogan and Jon Anik without missing a beat.
However, there is another fighter who competed at UFC 269 who has something to say about Cormier’s commentating skills or perceived lack thereof.
“Suga” Sean O’Malley defeated Raulian Paiva to kick off the pay-per-view and was then asked how the fight played out relative to his expectations during the post-fight press conference. Here is what O’Malley said in response.
“I did see [the Paiva fight] playing out like that. And I want to thank myself for looking at the clock and seeing how much time was left because some people, Daniel Cormier—my last fight, he’s like, ‘Oh, my god! He’s looking at the clock!’ It’s like, what are you talking about, dude? Of course. Yeah, I’m gonna look at the clock. If I didn’t look at the clock, I wouldn’t know how much time I have left. I landed a big shot. I don’t know much time I got left. I gotta know, should I empty my tank and try to take this dude out, or should I wait and have the rest of the fight—save my energy.
PHOTO: MMA FIGHTING
“So that kinda bugged me (that he) kept bringing that up. ‘Oh, he looked at the clock! Oh, he looked at the clock!’ It’s like, dude’s a double-champ. It’s like, where’s your IQ, your fight IQ? You think LeBron James is gonna fuckin’ drive the ball down and not look at the clock? It’s amateur…
“Don’t say stupid shit,” O’Malley later added about Cormier’s commentary.
O’Malley Shares Theory To Explain His Perception Of DC’s Commentary
In the above comments, O’Malley is referencing his UFC 264 victory over Kris Moutinho in July. Cormier pointed out that O’Malley was repeatedly looking at the clock during the fight, with the implication being that O’Malley was tiring to Moutinho’s relentless forward pressure.
The more O’Malley thought about it, he eventually landed on a theory that could explain Cormier’s commentary.
“I’ve always felt like DC wants me to lose,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know. I could be completely wrong. I just sat down with him the other day. It’s not like he doesn’t like me personally. I just feel like he kinda wants to see me lose. I don’t know what it is, if I remind him of a young Jon Jones—but for some reason, I feel like he wants me to lose.”
O’Malley would taper these criticisms by saying there’s a chance he is being overly sensitive and is way off base. He also confessed that he himself would be terrible at the gig and that UFC commentators have a very difficult job to do.
Commentary aside, O’Malley has now moved to 15-1 as a professional and is now on a three-fight winning streak. As O’Malley awaits his next fight, perhaps now he and Cormier could hash out these criticisms in the public eye with or without the aid of Michael Bisping.
What are your thoughts on these comments from Sean O’Malley regarding Daniel Cormier’s commentary?
Hasbulla Magomedov has distanced himself from talk of a fight against Abdu Rozik. Hasbulla and Rozik became global stars off the back of a mock press conference that was posted to YouTube touting a fight between the Russian duo who suffer from the same rare form of dwarfism. Since then, Hasbulla has publically clashed with […]
Hasbulla Magomedov has distanced himself from talk of a fight against Abdu Rozik.
Hasbulla and Rozik became global stars off the back of a mock press conference that was posted to YouTube touting a fight between the Russian duo who suffer from the same rare form of dwarfism.
Since then, Hasbulla has publically clashed with his rival frequently, most recently the two teenagers were both in attendance at UFC 267 and came to blows following the conclusion of the light-heavyweight title main event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. According to reports Dana White is interested in staging a fight between Hasbulla and Rozik but the man himself doesn’t think it will happen.
Hasbulla Pours Cold Water On A Potential Fight With Abdu Rozik
“Yes some people want to organise it but they won’t be able to,” Hasbulla said during his first media scrum. “Because it is too expensive and not too many people will be able to pay for it.
“And I don’t want the fight at the moment, no we haven’t discussed it and Dana White didn’t discuss it,” Hasbulla added. “Abdu Rozik he is a bum and he is a singer. This fight doesn’t make sense.” (Transcribed by Mirror Fighting)
These comments will be music to the ears of many including The Russian Athletic Association For Dwarfs who have expressed their disdain for what they call an “unethical” match-up.
“It’s not even like a show fight — they (Magomedov and Rozik) get paid a lot of money and it’s a show to make people laugh,” Uliana Podpalnaya said. “There’s nothing serious about this, this isn’t sport. This is unethical, wrong, from my point of view. It seems to be that only on the one hand it can be correct and beautiful — if martial arts among small people are made a Paralympic sport.“
“It could be Judo, Karate, and people will understand that this is a serious sport, serious performances, and not some kind of laughing show,” Podpalyana explained. “Events like this don’t draw attention to the sport of little people. If interest in this appears, it’s only business a lot of money is being invested in it. And from the point of view of the sports career growth of these guys, there are no prospects.“
Do you think we’ll ever see Hasbulla vs. Abdu Rozik?
Your one stop shop for all the action from the opening prelim bell to the final moments of the main event of UFC 269. Last night (Sat., Dec 11, 2021), Ultimate Fighting Championship (…
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Your one stop shop for all the action from the opening prelim bell to the final moments of the main event of UFC 269.
Last night (Sat., Dec 11, 2021), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hosted a night of combat in T-Mobile Arena from Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 269. The final pay-per-view (PPV) of 2021 provided a pair of title fights, most notably the highly intriguing match up between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. Really though, there was great action throughout the night, making it a memorable event.
Let’s take another look at the best performances and techniques:
Do Bronx Retains
Charles Oliveira is an absolute animal. If you still think that man is a quitter, you’re a f—king idiot.
Oliveira marched straight to Poirier, stepped right into the pocket with the division’s best boxer, and THREW DOWN! Truthfully, he wasn’t winning the boxing exchanges, either, though it didn’t deter him. Poirier landed the bigger punches that stunned Oliveira, and his form was more crisp.
Fortunately for the Brazilian, it was not a boxing match. Right from the first bell, Oliveira was mixing up with varied offense, folding over the hand-fight into elbows. Whenever the two crashed together, Oliveira dug knees to the mid-section, which complimented his painful front teep stabs to the same target.
It was violent work, and it set up Oliveira’s takedown attempts well. Did he illegally grab the glove in round two? Probably. However, it still ultimately falls on Poirier for failing to defend himself once on bottom or in the separate third round. No glove grab forced Poirier to to lay still and take hard elbows for three straight minutes or give up his back.
It’s unfortunate that it happened vs. Poirier, one of the sport’s good guys. But, MMA is filled with ugly, cheap moves, and if the referee doesn’t see it, it’s legal.
UPSET OF THE YEAR
I did my best to make sense of Amanda Nunes’ shocking loss to Julianna Pena in a full article right HERE!
Don’t Blink
Kai Kara-France took about two minutes to find his range.
Cody Garbrandt was moving well, jabbing and firing low kicks at distance. For the most part, Kara-France was letting him work, occasionally shooting out a left kick of his own. Then, Kara-France closed distance behind a double jab and dropped a perfect overhand straight to the jawline.
“No Love” went down, and though he regained his feet quick enough, he never recovered. Without his legs under him, Garbrandt couldn’t offer all that much resistance, and Kara-France was able to patiently line up further right hands and force the stoppage.
Expect a title eliminator next for the Kiwi.
The Suga Show Rages On
Raulian Paiva was clearly well-prepared for the challenges O’Malley presents. The talented Brazilian was feinting his way forward and moving his head well, trying to avoid O’Malley’s long straights. Whenever possible, Paiva was chopping at the lead leg and trying to answer with combinations of his own.
It was all smart work, but O’Malley’s length and speed made it inconsequential. “Suga” exploded into an overhand that badly hurt Paiva, and O’Malley followed up with the poise of an absolute veteran. Paiva tried to wrestle and fire back to gain himself a chance to recover, but O’Malley pinned him to the cage with a rapid-fire flurry of brutal and well-placed punches.
Ignore the antics: O’Malley is a hugely talented Bantamweight.
Josh Emmett Is Back!
After 18 months away due to a catastrophic knee injury, Emmett returned vs. the ultra tough Dan Ige. He managed to drop the Hawaiian with nearly the first punch he threw, but when Ige recovered, the two went tit-for-tat in a competitive 15-minute scrap. Ultimately, Emmett’s hand was raised.
What’s important is what’s next. Emmett is 36 years old and riding an impressive four-fight win streak. The knockout artist deserves a Top Five opponent or some other similarly high-profile match next — the time is now!
Tuivasa’s Return
Don’t look now, but Tai Tuivasa is good again!
“Bam Bam” completed his tenth trip to the Octagon last night, and it’s already been a rather wild roller coaster ride. The Aussie started hot with three straight wins before a trio of losses revealed holes in his game and sent him spiraling out of the rankings. Since then, he’s rebounded to win three fights via knockout.
None of those victories came vs. top-tier competition, however. Sakai was a step back up, a solid puncher and grappler both. Against a dangerous and experienced contender, Tuivasa looked quite composed and dangerous. He did great work from all distances, finding some huge elbows and punches even when Sakai was doing effective damage of his own from the clinch.
Tuivasa was solidly in control heading into the second, but a short left hook counter still dramatically changed the fight. Sakai was put on the retreat, and Tuivasa chased him in style, putting together a big combination to brutally sleep the Brazilian.
“Bam Bam” is just 28 years old.
The Power Of Bruno Silva
Shoutout to Jordan Wright! The betting odds and analysts largely predicted that Bruno Silva would knock him out, but damn, “The Beverly Hills Ninja” still went out there with the confidence that he was going to crush the Brazilian.
It didn’t exactly play out that way. Wright started strong, landing some big shots and following up in the double-collar tie. He really fought like he believed he was going to score the early knockout! Unfortunately for him, Silva is the more accomplished finisher of the two, and he proved his power by stunning Wright on the break off the clinch.
As Wright chicken-danced, Silva followed up with more heaving swings, sending Wright to the canvas. As Wright tried to scramble and recover, Silva secured his third knockout via ground strikes in six months, definitively proving that you do not want Silva dropping hammers from top position.
Is Muniz A Middleweight Contender?
Andre Muniz improved to 4-0 inside the Octagon last night.
Eryk Anders seemed to be a difficult style match up for the Brazilian. “Ya Boi” is not an amazing technician, but at Middleweight, he’s a physical specimen with a habit of pummeling jiu-jitsu guys. Muniz avoided such a fight, timing an early takedown perfectly and then remaining in excellent position until the finish.
Muniz was both methodical and opportunistic from top position. He advanced position slowly, but once he fully took Anders’ back, he pretty willingly fell off the back to fully commit to the armbar. It worked perfectly, and Anders was forced to submit moments later.
It might be time to give the submission ace a ranked opponent.
Additional Thoughts
Tony Kelley defeats Randy Costa via second-round knockout: WHAT A PERFORMANCE! Kelley was an underdog vs. the younger striker, but he quickly flipped that notion on its head. Costa has issues managing his gas tank — he tends to start extremely fast then slow over time — and Kelley forced that flaw out of him. Immediately, Kelley was attacking, throwing up tons of volume and forcing Costa to respond. As a result, Costa never got off to his hot start at all; he was rendered defensive. Once Kelley gained that small advantage, he ran away with it, simply beating his opponent up to the finish.
Gillian Robertson defeats Priscila Cachoeira via first-round rear naked choke: Cachoeira entered this fight on an unlikely two-fight win streak, having won both fights via knockout. Robertson, however, wanted no part of the standup, and it didn’t take her long to prove herself the far superior grappler. As Cachoeira tried to stand, she gave up her back and the first-round submission — not a great look after missing weight.
For complete UFC 269: “Oliveira vs. Poirier” results and play-by-play, click HERE!
Sean O’Malley celebrates after knocking out Raulian Paiva in round one of their UFC 269 fight. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Because of his UFC 269 win, Sean O’Malley will likely get a higher-ranked opponent ne…
Sean O’Malley celebrates after knocking out Raulian Paiva in round one of their UFC 269 fight. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Because of his UFC 269 win, Sean O’Malley will likely get a higher-ranked opponent next according to Dana White.
During the lead-up of UFC 269, Dana White was asked why Sean O’Malley isn’t fighting someone higher-ranked. According to the UFC president, “Sugar” Sean isn’t the type of fighter you’d want to move up the ladder that quick.
“He’s not ready. You guys wanna throw him to the wolves,” White told Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox. You don’t move somebody that fast unless they’re Khamzat Chimaev. Khamzat is a guy you’ll feel comfortable moving that fast.
“He’s a tough kid, he’s fun, he’s exciting to watch. But he’s making his way the way you’re supposed to. You don’t just turn O’Malley around and throw him in there against killers. That’s not how it works.”
The 27-year-old O’Malley ended 2021 with another impressive stoppage, this time by scoring a first-round TKO win over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. And after that performance, White says he may have to do some rethinking.
“The guy he beat tonight is a real guy. A very real guy,” White told reporters during the post-fight press conference. “He did it in spectacular fashion.
“And I know when you talk to him, two things: he wants to get paid, and he wants to fight higher-level competition. Looks like we’re gonna have to pay him. Get him some fights.”
O’Malley (15-1) also took home $50K for Performance of the Night.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
We’re not surprised. When it comes to sniping from the sidelines, there are few fighters more prolific than Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.
You could argue that yo…
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
We’re not surprised.
When it comes to sniping from the sidelines, there are few fighters more prolific than Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.
You could argue that you shouldn’t hate the players, you should hate the game. Conor McGregor has fought in the UFC a total of four times over the past five years. Nate’s even worse with three fights (and no big money boxing crossover). When you fight that infrequently in real life, today’s social media strategy demands you dish it out on Twitter to stay relevant.
However the game is played, it’s still not a great look to see these guys pile on Dustin Poirier, who has fought 11 times in the same five year stretch: once for the interim lightweight title and twice for the full title. The fact that he’s fought a who’s who of 155 pound killers and has only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira is amazing in its own right.
But that didn’t stop Diaz or McGregor from trying to take him down with douchey proclamations after Oliveira submitted “The Diamond” in round 3 at UFC 269 (watch the highlights here).
First, Nate:
How Conor let Dp fuck him up hella times he sucks ???
At least Nate had the conviction to leave his tweets up. McGregor follows a strict tweet ‘n delete strategy where nothing but Hallmark family photo ops and plugs for Proper 12 stay online for longer than a few hours. Here’s what he said immediately after Oliveira tapped Poirier.
Twitter
For those not keeping score, Dustin Poirier is currently 2-1 against Conor McGregor and spent the first half of 2021 completely ruining McGregor’s year. So it’s not surprising that “The Notorious” is still salty sitting at home watching someone who beat him compete for the title.
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor both had something to say about Dustin Poirier’s loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
In last night’s UFC 269 main event, Dustin Poirier and champion Charles Oliveira went to war to solidify who was the best lightweight…
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor both had something to say about Dustin Poirier’s loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269.
In last night’s UFC 269 main event, Dustin Poirier and champion Charles Oliveira went to war to solidify who was the best lightweight in the world. It was Oliveira who had his hand raised in the end to log his first successful title defense. Poirier was gracious and classy in defeat, but grace was not something extended to the Louisianian by two familiar faces to him, Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor.
First, Diaz took an indirect shot at nemesis Conor McGregor in his reaction to the outcome of the UFC 269 main event.
How Conor let Dp fuck him up hella times he sucks ????
“How Conor let Dp fuck him up hella times he sucks”
It’s up for interpretation if the “he” is in reference to McGregor or Poirier, but judging by the overall context, it would seem the insult could apply equally to either gentleman.
Poirier had more pressing issues to deal with at the moment than what Nate Diaz had to say about him, but McGregor continues to have plenty of time to fire back at his rival while also launching an indirect shot at Poirier in this instance.
?? you lanky string of piss he got lumped around and got lucky twice. That’s it. Is what it is. Embarrassing night for him alright. That closed guard game. Wtf was that. Wow! Shocking. All good happy Sat night horse yupya it’s proper twelve day tomorrow 12/12. New Paddy’s Day!
“you lanky string of piss he got lumped around and got lucky twice. That’s it. Is what it is. Embarrassing night for him alright. That closed guard game. Wtf was that. Wow! Shocking. All good happy Sat night horse yupya it’s proper twelve day tomorrow 12/12. New Paddy’s Day!,” McGregor said in response to Diaz.
Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier have been linked together in the past. The two were supposed to fight at UFC 230 in 2018, but that fight fell apart, with both fighters pointing the finger at the other as far as who was to blame for the collapse.
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have fought three times, with Poirier getting the better of McGregor twice, as Diaz alluded to in his tweet. The last time Poirier and McGregor competed against one another was at UFC 264. At the close of this trilogy bout, McGregor suffered a gruesome leg injury that resulted in a Poirier TKO victory via doctor’s stoppage.
What do you make of these remarks from Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor about Dustin Poirier’s UFC 269 loss?
Hasbulla Magomedov has distanced himself from talk of a fight against Abdu Rozik. Hasbulla and Rozik became global stars off the back of a mock press conference that was posted to YouTube touting a fight between the Russian duo who suffer from the same rare form of dwarfism. Since then, Hasbulla has publically clashed with […]
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