Sean O’Malley is one of the names to have had a sharp upward trajectory in the UFC in 2020. The fighter made his return after two years out and won via first-round TKO at UFC 248. On that night he beat Jose Alberto Quinonez in the final preliminary card fight. ‘Sugar’ returned to compete on the main card at UFC 250.

In the UFC’s first PPV from the Apex, he administered a KO blow which became the talk of the MMA world. These performances led to the 25-year old getting a ranking. It also resulted in him getting the clout to call out top Bantamweight contenders. 

Based on O’Malley’s popularity, a fight featuring him will certainly draw eyeballs. The fighter feels that the other competitors understand this and hence they are replying to him on social media. 

In a chat with MMA Fighting, he said, “I’m talking a lot of smack about Petr, Cody, Henry, all these dudes, and they’re all replying. They all know that’s a realistic fight in the future. They’re not taking it as a joke. They know it’s serious business.” 

One name ‘Sugar’ latches onto is the third ranked Bantamweight contender Cody Garbrandt. ‘No Love’ featured on the UFC 250 card too and won his first fight in three years with a phenomenal lights out punch in the dying seconds of round two. He had Raphael Assuncao so dazed that the fighter had to sit on the floor instead of the stool for a few minutes. 

O’Malley gave fans a video where he compared the two KOs and reasoned why he had the better one.

Sean O’Malley feels the UFC wants him active

According to ‘Sugar,’ the company hasn’t said no to having him fight a top contender. The 25-year old said, “He [Dana White] acknowledged that, ‘Oh if he beats Cody, we only have so many options, he’s top-five already, he only can fight four other people.’ I think the UFC wants me active right now. What I take away from that is they don’t want me to limit my options of opponents.”

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O’Malley seems to have taken to the approach of fighting anyone available to have momentum on his side. He wants to build himself and steadily rise in the rankings. However, he remains supremely confident in himself and believes he will finish Garbrandt via KO within the first five minutes. 

“I go out there and KO Cody in the first round. Now I’m potentially fighting a couple times a year rather than taking these guys. Like, I don’t even think ‘Chito’ is ranked. That’s who I plan on fighting next in my head, and then I have a ton of options after that.” 

Sean O’Malley concludes that this is beneficial for him because if he fights a top guy it will restrict his opponent pool in the future. He says, “I think it’s smart in the UFC’s business-wise not to give me a guy in the top-five, or even a top-10 guy right now because it limits the options of who I can fight next.”

Despite O’Malley’s call-outs and his supreme confidence, it would no doubt please purists to hear that he has plans only to fight his next opponent. ‘Sugar’ will open the main card against Marlon Vera at UFC 252 on August 15. Do you see him claiming a 13th professional win and maintaining his 100% record?