“[Sean] O’Malley isn’t gonna be a star. He is a star,” that’s what Dana White said after ‘Suga’ defeated Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, becoming the bantamweight champion. But that seems to have been the highest point in his career, and since then, his superstar status has taken a hit, which is surprising, as he was touted to be the next Conor McGregor. Recently, Joe Rogan weighed in on the situation and provided the reason behind O’Malley’s dip in stardom. And guess what? Most fans are thinking the same thing.

MMA recession is real, at least, according to famed combat journalist, Ariel Helwani. One of the reasons is the lack of superstars in the UFC, and other than heavyweight champ Jon Jones, former double champ Conor McGregor, ex-205lbs champ Alex Pereira, and Ronda Rousey, there hasn’t been anyone who has been able to make as big of an impact as the aforementioned legends have. Well, Joe Rogan simply puts it that to be a star, “they have to win.” That’s when Joe Rogan turned his attention to Sean O’Malley.

‘Suga’ already saw his momentum getting derailed when he lost to Marlon Vera in the first encounter, putting an end to his 4-fight win streak. But he got that win back in his first title defense. However, Sean O’Malley’s second title defense, which he lost to Merab Dvalishvili in a lopsided fashion, was the one that put him in a bad spot, according to Joe Rogan. The 57-year-old believes that it was a miscalculated move because not only was the ex-champ hurt coming into the fight against Dvalishvili, he also fumbled the chance of shining big the biggest event in UFC history at the Sphere.

“‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley could have had it if he beat Merab, but that was a nightmare matchup, and he had a f—ed up hip going into that fight,” Joe Rogan stated on the #2316 JRE episode. “It’s one of those things. The UFC was putting on this big show at the Sphere, which was insane… For him to take that fight with a bad hip was crazy.”

Well, Joe Rogan may not entirely be wrong because the loss did affect Sean O’Malley in a way, where he decided to get off social media platforms for a while ahead of his rematch. But then again, the UFC color commentator also empathized with ‘Suga’s decision to fight, even though he wasn’t 100 percent. Here’s what he had to say.

Joe Rogan claims Sean O’Malley took the fight with a bad hip because he was the champion

There have been several occasions when fighters tend to pull out or postpone a fight if they feel like their preparations and their physical condition are not up to the mark. But that’s not what Sean O’Malley did. As we’ve mentioned already, UFC 306 was a pretty big deal, and Dana White rested the responsibility on ‘Suga’ to deliver in the headlining fight as he carried the bantamweight belt. Joe Rogan lauded his decision because O’Malley showed no fear or hesitation in fighting Merab Dvalishvili.

However, Joe Rogan claims that fighters, including Sean O’Malley, need to think about the bigger picture and how their career would look when it’s all said and done. On that note, he believes taking a fight with a broken hip against Merab Dvalishvili, who’s literally called ‘The Machine’, was a huge mistake on the former champion’s part.

“I know he did it because he thought he could win anyway because he’s champion, and that’s how champions think. But, with a bad hip, when you’re fighting a wrestler and you weren’t wrestling at all in training because your hip’s bad, that’s crazy,” Joe Rogan added. “You’ve got to think about the legacy in the future, and taking a fight against a guy who’s an elite grappler while you have a blown hip is kind of insane.”

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What do you think about Sean O’Malley’s status? He still has a healthy online following, so maybe maintaining a winning consistency will help him become a superstar in the not-too-distant future. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.