Sean O’Malley had an unfortunate misstep in his UFC 252 match against Marlon Vera. He tried gamely to continue and even mask the injury, but it was only prolonging his agony. 

O’Malley seemed to have stumbled, but the way he stood up made viewers assume that he had gone for Vera’s leg. However, the limp was easily visible with ‘Chito’ too, having spotted it. This was an opening that he would not miss out on. 

When looking back at the moment, fans can see how O’Malley’s ankle turned.

Sean O’Malley tried to fight through the pain at UFC 252

‘Sugar’ had the option to go for a knockout and end the fight. He even landed a few punches on target. However, Vera, who was spurred on by the flag taunt, must have smelled blood.

As O’Malley stumbled while backing away from his opponent, he was literally a sitting duck. 

He tried to be the grounded fighter but could not adequately defend himself as Herb Dean called the fight off following two unanswered shots to the head.

Following the contest, ‘Sugar’ clutched his ankle in agony, which gave fans the understanding of how badly he had been hurt. He had his hand on his face as he tried to make it back on his feet. 

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In touching on the bantamweight fighter’s injury, Bellator MMA’s Michael Chandler commented, “Rolling the ankle can deaden the nerve…interesting fight-ending circumstances…”

However, this was no simple dead nerve that would go in a few minutes. This is because the fighter struggled to make to stand and was hobbling on one leg for the decision. 

Read: WATCH: Felice Herrig Stunned by Virna Jandiroba With a Smooth Submission

Following this, O’Malley got stretchered from the octagon as he could not walk. His display will only enhance his reputation in the eyes of fight fans who will see him as someone who wants to compete and not just be a social media personality. 

Now, Vera has claimed six wins on the bounce at bantamweight, which is second only to the divisional champion Petr Yan. Meanwhile, O’Malley has tasted defeat for the first time since turning professional.

UFC fans will keep their fingers crossed that Sean O’Malley isn’t sidelined for too long and returns soon. For how long will his injury keep him out of action?