Sean O’Malley would like to fight top-three bantamweight Rob Font following his third-round TKO victory over Kris Moutinho at UFC 264.
Sean O’Malley put on a boxing clinic against late replacement Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 this past Saturday and, although he didn’t get the one-shot knockout he was looking for, ‘Suga’ believes the third-round TKO victory was enough to secure a spot among the UFC bantamweight elite.
O’Malley, 26, has shortened his list of potential opponents down to just one man as the rising star called out top-three bantamweight Rob Font in his post-fight interview at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I’m definitely not getting Petr. He’s fighting Aljo,” O’Malley said (h/t MMA News). “ I’m definitely not getting Cody. He’s going down to ’25. I don’t think Dominick will accept that fight. I think Rob [Font] will take it.”
“I don’t really see why not,” he added. “He beats me, he gets a title shot. That’s just how this game works. I’m the biggest draw at bantamweight right now. But if I don’t get it, I don’t care. I got 10 years of fighting. We’re gonna fight everyone. So I’ll probably fight towards the end of the year.”
O’Malley (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) might not yet be ranked in the top fifteen but Suga is already one of the biggest names in the division and one of the fastest growing stars in the UFC.
Font (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) is 4-0 since 2018 and believes he earned a title shot following his unanimous decision victory over Cody Garbrandt at UFC Fight Night 188. The 34-year-old has previously hinted at a bantamweight showdown with O’Malley, stating that he would rather face the latter than Dominick Cruz.
“That’s the guy that’s kind of buzzing right now. He’s got that name and I can’t wait for him to fight [next]. Nobody is sitting here dying to watch Dominick Cruz fight. But I’m not gonna lie, I wouldn’t mind watching a ‘Sugar’ Sean fight. I think he’s the bigger name if anything.”