Sean O’Malley has an idea on how a fantasy fight with Conor McGregor would go.
MMA has come long a way from UFC 1, where fighters would compete against one another regardless what they weighed. Now, it’s a totally different ball game with a dozen different divisions to showcase who’s the best at each weight class.
In 2016, UFC superstar McGregor broke a barrier by becoming the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champion and several others have repeated the feat since. Bantamweight king Sean O’Malley hopes to do the same in an eventual clash with the newly crowned Ilia Topuria at 145lbs, with Chito Vera first standing in his way at UFC 299.
O’Malley Admits ‘Big F*****’ McGregor Would Probably KO Him
However, ‘Sugar’ isn’t here to talk about that fight in particular. Instead, O’Malley was asked about fighting the massive McGregor, a fight far removed from reality.
“He’s just a big f***** and he’s getting bigger,” O’Malley said of McGregor on the PBD Podcast. “So, I don’t necessarily love my odds against that. But just boxing, it’s like speed kills and I’m pretty quick. But, out of respect, I’ll say Conor can knock me out.
“I think I have better skills,” O’Malley added. “I can stand southpaw, orthodox and have very good defense, both very good offense, both. I think I have the best striking in MMA, hands down, to be honest.”
As For Featherweight McGregor However…
More than confident in the striking department, O’Malley reckons he could hold his own against ‘The Notorious’ at his peak, when he was considered the best featherweight in the world.
“It’s a good question,” O’Malley said, when asked who would win the fantasy fight. “For Conor at his prime at 145 when he knocked out Jose Aldo, me moving up to 145… I’d still be a little bit lighter, but I’m taller. I believe I’m faster. I think it’d be a good [fight]. I think it’d be a competitive fight back in the day when he was 145. I got to [give the slight edge to myself].”
McGregor’s UFC run at 145lbs went off without a hitch as the former champ put together a perfect 7-0 record before blowing up to 155lbs and 170lbs in his next fights, never to return to the weight class again.
How would Sean O’Malley do against the featherweight version of Conor McGregor?
