Sean O’Malley, the UFC bantamweight champion, has a busy professional life, both inside and outside the cage. Following his victory at UFC 292, O’Malley wasted no time in sharing his future goals with the public.
He mentioned two plans: defending his title and venturing into boxing. O’Malley expressed interest in a boxing match with Gervonta Davis, the WBA Lightweight champion. However, it appears that the UFC is only keen on O’Malley boxing Davis’ recent opponent.
Sean O’Malley claims UFC to be open to a boxing match vs Ryan Garcia
Sean O’Malley recently engaged in a Twitter feud with Devin Haney, the undisputed boxing champion in the lightweight division. This comes alongside O’Malley’s interest in a potential boxing match with knockout artist Gervonta “Tank” Davis. In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, O’Malley also discussed the UFC’s plans.
O’Malley was recently announced as the headliner for UFC 299 against Marlon “Chito” Vera. Dana White himself made the announcement. In addition to fighting Vera, O’Malley laid out his ventures outside of the octagon to Helwani. When Helwani inquired about the UFC’s stance on O’Malley boxing, “Suga” clarified the promotion’s stance.
Apparently, the UFC does not entertain the idea of O’Malley fighting Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, or Shakur Stevenson. The reason is that both Davis and Haney are not big enough PPV stars. However, that is not the case for Ryan Garcia. Garcia is the only boxer the UFC sees as a potential opponent for O’Malley in the boxing ring. Garcia is immensely popular on social media and has only lost to Gervonta Davis in his entire boxing career.
Sean O’Malley’s wild claim to beat Gervonta, Haney, and Shakur in one night
In his recent one-hour interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Sean O’Malley shared a lot. He made the UFC’s stance on the bantamweight champion boxing clear. O’Malley also discussed his belief that he’s a better fighter than boxers.
O’Malley was of the opinion that he could beat all the top undefeated lightweight boxers, like Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, and Shakur Stevenson. Even more impressive than this claim was his belief that he could do it in a single day. “I would hate to just have boxing skills and not be able to defend myself on the ground, cause then I couldn’t talk sh*t. Like the boxers can’t actually talk sh*t to me…They can talk sh*t on Twitter, but they can’t actually fight,” O’Malley said on the MMA Hour.
O’Malley is one of the best counterpunchers in the UFC. His finish off Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 to win the bantamweight title is a perfect example of his counterpunching prowess. Moreover, O’Malley is also one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. His star power was evident when the UFC offered him Marlon Vera for his next title defense.
Do you think Sean O’Malley could defeat a world-champion boxer inside the boxing ring? Leave your comment below!