Kris Moutinho believes that he would have finished Sean O’Malley if he had a little more time at UFC 264. Kris ultimately lost by unanimous decision, despite putting on an exciting performance.
Heading into UFC 264, fans assumed that O’Malley would easily defeat Kris, as it was his first time in the UFC octagon. Moutinho also headed into the octagon that night on short notice, severely stacking the odds in O’Malley’s favor.
However, the fight played out differently than most thought would happen. Moutinho stayed engaged the entire fight, pushing Sean to his limits with relentless forward pressure. Although he absorbed an extreme amount of punishment, O’Malley could never get a knockout, let alone an easy one.
Moutinho Speaks on Sean O’Malley Fight
After the loss, Moutinho spoke with the media about his UFC debut. He shared his belief that Sean was scared towards the end of the fight.
“I feel like he was getting a little scared towards the end,” Moutinho said to Mike Heck of the What the Heck Show.
“He was a little scared towards the end. If that was a five-round fight, he would have been a little more. I think I was pushing him, I think he was tired. I think I was going at a pace that eventually, he would have worn down of.”
Changing Gameplans in Retrospect
He continued to explain what he could have done better to win. Instead of taking a forward approach, Kris believes that the fight would have been more competitive if he had instilled more defense.
“I think, again, it was my fault. Wasn’t adding any feints, I was standing there, I wasn’t moving my head off the center line, I was just getting punched in the face. Didn’t make it as much of a competitive fight as it could have been. I can’t go back in time, I can’t change things, I understand what happened. I understand what I have to improve on and and the next few months is going to be nothing but improvement.”
Do fans believe that Moutinho could have gotten a win over O’Malley with more time on the clock?
