Paddy Pimblett believes Sean O’Malley is looking at a win-win scenario regardless of the outcome of his fight with Petr Yan.
Paddy Pimblett Believes It’s Win-Win For Sean O’Malley
O’Malley will take on Yan at UFC 280 on October 22. It will be a massive step up in competition for O’Malley, who has quickly become one of the fastest rising young stars in the UFC.
Yan is a former UFC bantamweight champion who is a phenomenal boxer. However, O’Malley is an extremely dangerous and explosive striker who is a proven finisher.
With a potential win over Yan, O’Malley could be on the fast track to a world title shot. However, even if he doesn’t come out on top, UFC lightweight star Paddy Pimblett believes it’s still a win for O’Malley.
Pimblett is a fellow rising star in his own right, recently speaking on the Chattin Pony podcast with Steve-O, and believes, as long as O’Malley doesn’t get knocked out, he can’t really lose.
“It’s a win win. Cause even if he loses everyone is going to be like, ‘Give him his due, he got in there with Yan.’ I just think that it really is a win win for him.
“As long as he doesn’t get knocked out, know what I mean? He could (win), he’s got that power to knock someone out.”
O’Malley is currently on a three-fight win streak at the moment. His last outing took place this past July at UFC 276, where he went to a No Contest with Pedro Munhoz after an accidental eye poke.
Now, O’Malley gets a shot at a former world champion, which could automatically propel him into title contention. Yan comes off of a split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling in their UFC bantamweight title unification bout this past April.
Getting back on track with a big win over a young star like O’Malley could be just what Yan needs right now.