In a stacked card featuring not one but two title fights, bantamweight star Sean O’Malley was one of the biggest attractions. At UFC 269, ‘Sugar’ faced Raulian Paiva in his third fight of this calendar year. 

Going into the fight, fans and pundits alike criticized O’Malley for ducking top-ranked names and fighting lesser-known opponents instead. ‘Sugar’ defended himself, stating that Paiva was ranked 15th in the division at the time the fight was booked. 

In the build-up to the fight, O’Malley insisted that he was taking Paiva seriously and was not overlooking him. However, the Arizona native was quietly confident that he would get yet another knockout win added to his highlight reel. 

‘Sugar’ started the fight well, immediately imposing his game plan on Paiva. From the outset, O’Malley utilized his height and reach advantage well, keeping Paiva at a distance while landing devastating blows. 

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The finishing sequence saw O’Malley land a devastating right hand that dropped Paiva to the floor. He then backed his opponent up against the cage and started teeing off on him.

‘Sugar’ unloaded a barrage of punches on Paiva, who hit the floor for the second time and managed to get right back up. However, when Paiva hit the floor for the third time, the referee had seen enough and stepped in to stop the fight. 

Sean O’Malley proves once again that he is the real deal 

In the post-fight interview, O’Malley revealed that Canelo Alvarez inspired him, as he had been watching a lot of clips on the Mexican boxer leading up to this fight. ‘Sugar’ also revealed that he almost pulled out of the fight, as he had a broken rib during the training camp for this bout. He stated that he could only run and hit the mitts for most of the fight camp but did not pull out, as he knew a lot of fans were eager to watch him perform.

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O’Malley is now on a three-fight win streak. Once the revised rankings are released this Tuesday, O’Malley will definitely find himself in the top 15 at 135-pounds. There will be a plethora of options for ‘Sugar’ to choose from in his next fight. However, in all likelihood, a top 10 ranked opponent will be next for ‘Sugar’.

What did you make of Sean O’Malley’s win tonight? Who do you think he should face next? Let us know in the comments below!