Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Sean O’Malley sat down and issued a response to those criticizing him about how he handled his UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera.
Many weren’t pleased with how Sean O’Malley handled his first career defeat courtesy of Marlon Vera at UFC 252. He even got a lecture from middleweight contender Darren Till about how to take a loss.
The 25-year-old wasn’t accepting towards his loss then, and we probably can’t expect him to be any time soon. Because as far as he’s concerned, he remains unbeaten.
“I’ve seen a lot of people saying, ‘take your loss like a man,’” O’Malley said in a recent video he uploaded. “And I don’t get that.
“I lose everyday. I went to jiu-jitsu and trained hard today. And guess what? I got submitted. I lost. I slapped that dude’s hand and said, ‘that was slick, brotha!’”
“On paper, I’m 12-1,” he added. “I lost August 15th. I’m 12-1. And in my head, I didn’t lose sh-t. I’m 12-0, I didn’t lose. I get that I lost. But mentally, I didn’t lose.”
Many would point out that it was Vera’s calf kick that did the most damage, but it’s not how O’Malley sees it.
“If you guys don’t know what a calf kick is, go watch me kick his calf hard,” he explained. “That sh-t hurts. I’ve been dropped by calf kicks in sparring. I remember the first time I ever got calf kicked was by John Moraga. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that hurts really bad.’
“What happened to my foot, I got kicked on the nerve. And Chito’s like, ‘Yeah, I won, I calf kicked him.’ That’s not what happened. He kicked this nerve… I had an ankle brace on, I had my coach loosen it up before we walked out, I’m like, ‘this sh-t’s too tight.’
“The nerve gave me drop foot, and then I sprained my ankle, like four times. And people talking sh-t like, ‘You’re a pussy!’ I’m the same guy that fought with a broken foot, a Lisfranc surgery — a pretty major surgery — for three minutes.
“Did he win? Yes. Am I undefeated? Yes,” O’Malley continued. “Mentally, I’m 12-0. I didn’t lose sh-t. I was dominating that fight, I felt superior in there until my foot gave out.”
O’Malley says one more fight before the year ends “would be ideal” for him. It would be his fourth bout for 2020, if it pushes through.