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“There’s no way he takes that fight, it’s a lose-lose for him.”
Sean O’Malley is beaming with confidence following his highlight reel knockout of Eddie Wineland at UFC 250.
The surging bantamweight (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) now has his sights set on Cody Garbrandt and is confident he finishes the former bantamweight champion via KO.
“Yeah, absolutely. 100 percent. I feel like I’d knock Cody out,” O’Malley told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Monday (h/t MMA Fighting). “I mean, he looked more improved Saturday, for sure. He looked like he was more calculated, more calm. He looked very much improved from his previous getting knocked out three times. So, he did improve. I think he is high-level. He’s a very, very dangerous opponent. Anyone that just throws bombs like that is dangerous. I feel like I’m calculated enough, accurate enough, and skill-wise enough to be able to knock him out. So that’s a win-win fight for me.”
As eager as O’Malley is to prove himself against the divisional elite, ‘Sugar’ doesn’t think ‘No Love’ would accept the fight because he feels it would be a ‘lose-lose for him’.
“There’s no way he takes that fight. There’s no way he takes that fight, it’s a lose-lose for him,” he said. “One, he’s probably going to get knocked out and two he’s fighting someone that has a lot of hype, but if he beats me people will say, ‘oh you (should have),’ so it’s a lose-lose for him I feel like. I’m sure they’d avoid that fight
Despite not being ranked in the top-fifteen O’Malley feels he’s ‘right up there with the top three guys in the world’.
“I need to keep building my highlight reel. I want to be able to look back on my career and have a 20 minute long, nonstop highlight reel. That’s just kind of my style. . . So yeah, I have no issues with taking less ranked opponents and going out there and not getting rushed, but I’m also down if they’re like, ‘Hey, let’s fight this dude.’ I’m ready.”
O’Malley is one of the most exciting prospects in the bantamweight division and has won all but three of his bouts via stoppage.