While he has the confidence to fight at 145 pounds, Sean O’Malley wants this one thing first before making the jump.
Rising contender Sean O’Malley has so far been making waves in the UFC’s bantamweight division. And as he further moves up in competition, he also sees himself fighting in the weight class above.
In a recent video he uploaded to his YouTube channel, “Sugar” Sean spoke to his trainer Tim Welch about a possible move to featherweight.
“Eventually,” O’Malley said when asked about fighting at featherweight. “I’m 27 years old, I’m gonna be in this sport for ten more years. I think I will bump up to ’45, especially when my jiu-jitsu is at a level that I’m like, ‘f—k with me.’
“I’m very confident in my jiu-jitsu, but once it gets to a point where I feel like Charles (Oliveira) on the ground, I’ll move up to ’45.”
But even without the level of jiu-jitsu prowess he’s going after, O’Malley says he can hold his own at 145 pounds.
“At ’45 right now, people are probably bigger than me. Even now, (if) I go up to ’45, I feel like I could still beat a lot of those turds.
“The top, top guys, I’ll have trouble with right now, but it’s ‘cause I’m trying to keep my weight down and low enough for 135.”
For now, O’Malley has his hands full as he prepares for former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.