Sean O’Malley doesn’t disagree with Paddy Pimblett.
The pair of youthful mixed martial arts (MMA) stars have found their home in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and never wanted anything else. Pimblett drew attention to himself in a recent interview for expressing that UFC is the dream for most all fighters, not promotions like Bellator or Professional Fighters League (PFL).
While “Suga” might not feel as harshly as the “Baddy,” he can’t help but state the obvious.
“I mean, I sure didn’t,” O’Malley said on The Bro’Malley Show when discussing if he ever hoped to be anywhere aside from UFC. “PFL wasn’t a thing, but I wasn’t like, ‘God, I want to be in Bellator.’ But everyone’s different. Some people are making more money in PFL and Bellator than they would make in the UFC. So, it’s a very, very good alternative and it’s a good thing that’s there. It’s f—king awesome and I have a lot of good buddies that are in Bellator and making good money.
“There are some high-level guys at the top, but the depths of the divisions aren’t as deep,” he continued. “You can go out there, win, get some good fights. But yeah, it’s a bold statement.”
For O’Malley, his dreams have all come true for the most part thus far. Currently ranked as the No. 2 contender in the Bantamweight division, a title shot appears imminent for the Dana White’s Contender Series alum.
“If you’re an up-and-coming kid at the gym and you go up and ask 100 of ‘em, ‘What’s your goal? What’s your dream?’ I would say less than 10 would say to be in PFL or Bellator.” O’Malley said. “I would say they all wanna be in UFC, which they should be. UFC’s the biggest, it’s like you want to be in the National Football League (NFL), I want to be in the NBA, it’s the biggest — most eyeballs, the most money for the most part.”