- Sean O’Malley accused Conor McGregor of being jealous
- “Suga” wants to prove that he could beat “Notorious”
Sean O’Malley holds a firm belief that Conor McGregor is jealous of his fame and wouldn’t hesitate to beat “Notorious” in a fight if given a chance.
Sean rips his idol
Speaking to ESPN MMA ahead of his UFC 306 title fight with Merab Dvalishvili, “Suga” opened up about his thoughts on his relationship with McGregor. Admittedly, O’Malley looked up to the former UFC two-division champ but he confided that he began to sense jealousy and bitterness from his idol as his career flourished.
“I thought it was good for a while,” O’Malley said of his relationship with McGregor. “I would do something good and he would kind of say, yeah, I looked good, something like that. But he never wanted to give me that praise almost. You know, [if] you go back to all my interviews, [I would say] I want to be like Conor, I want to do what Conor did.”
“Now, I’m 29. I’ve defended the belt, something he’s never done by the way, I just feel pure jealousy from him. It’s really weird because times change. He’s a little bit older now. He’s on a five-fight losing streak. He just pulled out because of his toe, which is just not Conor-like. I feel a lot of jealousy from Conor McGregor, to be honest, which sucks. I hope I don’t get bitter like that,” he pointed out.
“I hope once I’m a little bit older and I see someone else coming up, that I’m excited for them, happy for them, almost maybe a mentor towards them. Rather than just jealous and bitter because they have the spotlight and I don’t,” he added.
Sean is confident he could beat Conor
O’Malley further explained that he doesn’t really like calling out top fighters from higher divisions but he would definitely make an exception for McGregor. Unsurprisingly, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion is confident about being able to beat “Notorious.”
“Conor could still come back, fight Chandler and do big numbers but it’s like, how many more losses? It’s almost impressive how many losses he can do to keep coming back and get people’s attention. Speaking of big fights, that’s a fight I wouldn’t mind. I don’t really call out big guys at 155, 170, because I know my role,” O’Malley explained. “I’m a 35er [bantamweight].”
“But for me to be able to actually think I could beat Conor where he’s at right now, I’m just being honest. I’m just saying the truth,” he continued. “I believe I can beat Conor McGregor. When your idols turn to rivals is a real thing… I’ve always praised him, even after he took a couple shots at me. God, I tried to hate Conor but I couldn’t. Right now, I’m not a huge fan of Conor.”
It’s hard to tell why O’Malley and McGregor’s relationship soured as of late but “Suga” previously took a swipe at “Notorious” over PED’s.
Sean O’Malley isn’t stopping anytime soon. He wants to be as famous as Conor McGregor, but he also wants to do something McGregor didn’t – defend his title and fight champions in higher weight classes. O’Malley’s goal? To be remembered as one of the greatest fighters ever. He’s got big dreams and he’s working hard to make them happen.
“Right now it’s Conor McGregor, 100 percent. He’s a dork, but it’s the truth. For me to get to that, I need to go out there and knock out Merab, I go up to [145 pounds], I beat Ilia [Topuria], I beat Max [Holloway], I beat Umar [Nurmagomedov], I’m three fights away from being one of the greatest of all-time, one of the most exciting of all-time. There’s [a] difference.
“No one thinks Conor’s the greatest fighter of all-time. He was lacking skills, lacked title defenses, but entertainment wise, he’s the best in the world. Entertainment wise, he was the best.”
Conor McGregor laughed off Sean O'Malley's claims that his positive tests for Ostarine were potentially due to cross-contamination.
O'Malley went OFF on McGregor in response 😳😬#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/RF6Ji02QXC
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 23, 2024
While a potential bout with McGregor seems far-fetched at this point, as it stands, O’Malley will defend his bantamweight title against Dvalishvili on Sept. 14th at The Sphere.
Watch O’Malley’s full interview below:
