Sean O’Malley wants to be the next Conor McGregor?
Sean O’Malley wants to be the next mainstream UFC megastar, which he says has always been the goal since his days as an amateur fighter. He proclaimed that he is heading down the same road as Conor McGregor, but hopefully without all the controversies and legal issues that followed the Irishman after he reached superstardom.
“I wanted to kind of get into the UFC and be that motherf—er. Like, Conor was the first. I wanted to be that (mainstream star),” O’Malley said on Raw Talk (via sportskeeda). “Conor was that, which I thought was important for me to learn from. And I think I’m gonna just go on a similar path, but take it to another level, like even further.
“…And hopefully, not lose my mind. I think Conor; I mean, he made a 100 million dollars. You kind of try to stay humble, but it’s hard. No, I don’t wanna f—king get to a point where I’m throwing a dolly at a f—king bus; but I also kind of do.”
O’Malley is 7-1 in the UFC, and has grown to be a popular figure since joining the promotion in 2017. He seems to have the potential to be a breakout star, but one criticism that has followed him is the level of competition he’s faced. He’s shown good skill in his bouts, but even Dana White had doubts about him being “ready” for higher ranked opponents.
For all of McGregor’s serious flaws and mistakes, he did face talented opposition even early into his UFC career. By the time he was O’Malley’s age, he already won the interim featherweight belt, and was heading into that huge title fight with Jose Aldo.
While McGregor’s fighting career has seen better days, the bar he set in his prime with his achievements and drawing ability is astronomically high. Perhaps O’Malley can follow in those footsteps to win UFC titles and be a mainstream superstar, but any McGregor comparison just doesn’t have much basis in reality at this point.