- Kamaru Usman weighed in on Sean O’Malley’s rise to UFC stardom
- “Sugar” has yet to pick his first title challenger
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman heaped praise on Sean O’Malley and broke down why “Sugar” is so loved by MMA fans.
Sean is as real as it Gets
Following O’Malley’s epic UFC 292 title fight win over Aljamain Sterling, UFC president Dana White declared that the new bantamweight champ is already a “star.” Sharing his thoughts on why O’Malley quickly reached higher heights, Usman said “Sugar” resonates with the people because he has been real and natural right from the start.
“I’ve said this early. Sean O’Malley is one of those kids that I really love. I like seeing him, I like watching him. And not just that, I like the way that he carries himself,” Usman said on the DC & RC. “We’re kind of in a society… to where it’s fame: it’s supposed to come before success. That’s what we were pushing on but it’s very rare for that success to actually come. And Sean, yes, of course he announced the fame and I think the reason he announce that fame is because, it just feels real and authentic. This is a kid who, he shows you what he does. He loves to stay at home, he loves to train, he loves to smoke, and he has fun. And he loves to smoke, he loves to play video games. And that just happens to be a majority of where society is nowadays.”
“He’s doing it raw, he’s doing it authentically, and it resonates through,” he added. “… The level of confidence that he was just harboring… When you do something in repetition long enough, it becomes a habit. And with that being a habit you could tell Sean was just confident because this was a habit for him.”
Who’s next in line?
As expected, a bunch of top bantamweight contenders are now lining up for a shot at O’Malley. Sterling has called for an instant rematch, while Henry Cejudo also made his pitch. On the other hand, Marlon “Chito” Vera revealed that he and the UFC are already scheduled to talk about the title fight with O’Malley “next week.”
However, O’Malley has yet to pick his first challenger and admitted that he fancies a boxing match with Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
