UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley claimed he’s interested in fighting Umar Nurmagomedov if the Russian contender can become a superstar.
On March 9, O’Malley looks to defend his 135-pound throne for the first time in the UFC 299 main event. To do so, ‘Sugar’ must avenge his lone professional MMA loss in a rematch against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, who is coming off a unanimous decision win against Pedro Munhoz.
If O’Malley can emerge victorious, several world-class bantamweights await the next chance to secure UFC gold. One of the most respected 135-pound contenders is Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin of MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
During an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, O’Malley had this to say when asked about potentially fighting Umar in the future:
“People think I’m avoiding tough fights. Umar is probably the toughest fight, and yeah, I’ve been bringing his name up, but it also has to make sense. Umar isn’t a star at all. There’s like potential to be a star, star, superstar. I believe I’m a superstar. I believe Chito is a star. I believe Umar is a potential superstar literally because he has the last name Nurmagomedov.”
O’Malley continued:
“I’ve never watched the dude fight. I’ve watched some highlights, he’s very skilled, he trains at a good gym, his last name is Nurmagomedov, he’s Russian. He has potential because of that, but I lived, I think I’ve watched him fight some dude where I think he knee’d him in the lips, so I’ve watched him fight once.”
Watch O’Malley’s entire interview with Brett Okamoto below:
Sean O’Malley says he’s interested in ‘the biggest fights’ and challenges
Sean O’Malley has been criticized throughout his UFC tenure for allegedly not wanting to face the toughest opponents. Now that he’s the bantamweight king, O’Malley plans to silence those doubters by conquering the most challenging contenders.
During the previously mentioned interview, O’Malley had this to say about potentially fighting Umar Nurmagomedov if he’s the best challenge possible:
“I feel like just with the name and the skill of the UFC being able to promote certain people, and he comes from that gym. Khabib, I think they train together, he’s in his corner, O’Malley, Irish, it’s there. There’s something there. If he can become a star with that, that’s the fight I want too. I don’t want just the easiest fight. I want the biggest fight, and if I have two options and one guy I think is a little bit better of a challenge, I’ll take that one.”
On Saturday, March 2, Umar Nurmagomedov advanced his UFC record to 5-0 with a unanimous decision win against Bekzat Almakhan. Nurmagomedov has struggled to find top-ranked opponents to fight, but he’s expected to face number three-ranked Cory Sandhagen later this year.
