Sean O’Malley is holding his horses when it comes to a boxing crossover.
The 29 year-old fighter has already tasted greatness in the UFC, capturing the bantamweight title with a TKO of then-champ Aljamain Sterling last August. Months later, O’Malley outgunned and outmaneuvered rival contender Chito Vera across the five-round distance to remind the masses that he’s one of the absolute best strikers in the UFC today.
Sean O’Malley vs. Ryan Garcia?
Looking at the grand scheme of combat sports, one has to wonder, how does Sean O’Malley’s stand-up compare to that of professional boxers like Ryan Garcia, who just beat Devin Haney on Saturday?
The fanfare has O’Malley intrigued about entering the boxing ring, but “Suga” feels as though there is more to work to do from within the UFC Octagon.
“A boxing fight’s possible, for sure,” O’Malley said on his podcast, when asked about a potential fight with Garcia. “I’m not there yet. I still gotta become bigger. Two more f****** sick performances, and then we’re talking about being able to do [something] over the phone.”
A Numbers Game
It was a record-setting night for O’Malley in his last time out. Headlining a stacked UFC 299 card at the sold-out Kaseya Center, the pay-per-view event had the fifth-highest gate in the promotion’s history at $14M. The UFC Champion refuses to take all the credit, though.
“I do think it was partly because of me, but also because UFC is just that f****** big now,” O’Malley said. “They grew 40% over COVID. So 2020 to 2024, they’ve grown however much more. UFC is just fucking on a rocket ship, whether I’m f****** in it or not. But yeah, I do, I feel like I could pull those [numbers].”
Sean O’Malley sees a potential boxing fight with Ryan Garcia happening after 2 more wins in the UFC 👀
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 22, 2024
“I’m not there yet, I still gotta become bigger. Two more f***ing sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do whatever the f*** we want.
They told me, ‘you… pic.twitter.com/3KcbGX8MIA
UFC Open To “Suga” Boxing?
Speaking about numbers, O’Malley says a boxing super-fight could come about with Ryan Garcia. We’ve seen UFC stars collide with boxers in the past such as Conor McGregor against Floyd Mayweather, although it’s a rare occurrence to see fighters who are currently under UFC contract compete in such a contest.
But, Sean O’Malley still holds out hope that the day will come that he’ll be a big enough star to sway the promotion for an even bigger payday outside the cage… perhaps against boxing’s wildest attraction in Ryan Garcia.
“They told me, you can do a boxing fight 100%, if it makes us enough money. So, the option’s there. Just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f****** freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f****** Floyd-Conor fight.”
‘Be Prepared To Bleed, Rainbow’
Garcia has since responded to Sean O’Malley’s interest in fighting him.
“RAINBOW CACA BRAIN WANTS TO BOX,” Garcia wrote on ‘X’. “BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW.”
RAINBOW CACA BRAIN
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 22, 2024
WANTS TO BOX
BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW pic.twitter.com/GGrvV7ZSCH
Ryan Garcia has previously claimed that he’d ‘destroy’ Sean O’Malley in the UFC, as he reckons a boxing match wouldn’t be fair for the MMA-versed champion.
Would you like to see Sean O’Malley vs. Ryan Garcia in the boxing ring?
