A lot of us were laughing when Sean O’Malley teased a transition to boxing … but maybe the joke’s on us?
“Suga” is being hailed for his exceptional hands in the wake of his UFC 299 performance against Marlon Vera, a five-round drubbing that avenged a previous loss to “Chito” back in summer 2020. In fact, famed boxing trainer Teddy Atlas suggests O’Malley could hold his own — and even defeat — boxers competing on the pro circuit.
Maybe the bookies got it wrong.
“I’m not gonna call him a striker,” Atlas said on YouTube (transcribed by MMA News). “I think he would beat a lot of pro fighters… Yeah, he would beat a lot of pro boxers. He’s that good a boxer, his legs are that good, his striking ability, his combinations are that technically sound and pure, his hands are that fast, his ring IQ is that high, his vision is that clear. He’s a tremendous counter-puncher; a pure counter-puncher… He’s got a long jab and he uses that to set up punches. He knows range really well. He controls range really well, not only with his feet, but even with getting full length on his punches.”
Sounds like this assessment wasn’t that far off.
O’Malley, 29, is expected to return to the Octagon at some point later this year to defend his 135-pound title against No. 1-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili, where takedown defense — not knockout power — is likely to be the deciding fact. “The Machine” has been known to make mincemeat out of bantamweight strikers.
There’s also that Ilia Topuria super fight; however, that seems to be fading from view as time drags on, so all we can do is sit and wait for matchmakers to do their thing.