Sean O’Malley was an underdog in his title fight against Aljamain Sterling which he won via second round TKO at UFC 292. He fought just that once in 2023 as he last fought Petr Yan in UFC 280 in October 2022.
Sean Strickland was an even bigger underdog in his title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 which he won dominantly via unanimous decision. The UFC recently announced the President’s Choice Awards which are picked exclusively by UFC CEO Dana White and fans have their say regarding his picks.
Dana White picks Sean O’Malley as POTY winner
UFC CEO Dana White picked Sean O’Malley’s title triumph over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 293 for the 2023 President’s Choice Performance of the Year. O’Malley, against all odds, knocked out Sterling, even though he was fighting with a rib injury that shortened his grappling training.
O’Malley’s victory was picked ahead of MMA Junkie’s 2023 Female Fighter of the Year Alexa Grasso’s upset win over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285, Jon Jones’ heavyweight title triumph over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Israel Adesanya’s brutal KO of Alex Pereira at UFC 287, and Sean Strickland’s masterclass title fight against Adesanya.
Performance of the Year: President's Pick 👇
— UFC (@ufc) January 13, 2024
[ B2YB @ToyoTires | #UFCHonors ] pic.twitter.com/8igVysUtHX
O’Malley is scheduled to fight Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in Miami in a rematch of their first fight which saw Vera defeat O’Malley via TKO after O’Malley suffered damage on the peroneal nerve. Vera was not in contention for a title shot anytime soon, but O’Malley’s victory against Sterling and the history between O’Malley and Vera propelled him to it.
O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the UFC due to his flashy and flamboyant persona outside the cage. Inside the cage, O’Malley entertains with his high-level striking and distance game, which nobody has been able to figure out yet.
Fans claims Sean Strickland deserved to win over Sean O’Malley
Dana White and the UFC have high hopes for Sean O’Malley as they view him as a potential superstar. White picking O’Malley’s performance as the winner of the President’s Choice Awards was not well appreciated by the UFC fans on X.
“I hate Strickland as a person, but he was robbed. Just because O’Malley sells better.”, commented one fan who felt that Strickland is a deserved winner and O’Malley only got the pick because the UFC machine is behind him.
I hate Strickland as a person, but he was robbed. Just because O'Malley sells better.
— Arthur (@ArthurBaitson) January 13, 2024
“Sean Strickland vs Izzy was way better and way more deserving. Strickland was a +600 underdog, took the fight on extremely short notice and beat Adesanya (The second best middleweight of all time) at his own game.”, another fan seconded the comment of the first fan as he stated Strickland’s claim with facts about the betting odds.
Sean Strickland vs Izzy was way better and way more deserving. Strickland was a +600 underdog, took the fight on extremely short notice and beat Adesanya (The second best middleweight of all time) at his own game. Unfortunately he will never get the credit he deserves because…
— ZTNBlanco (@ZtnBlanco) January 13, 2024
“Unfortunately he will never get the credit he deserves because Sean O Malley is an industry plant who Dana is pushing so hard to be a superstar when he’s not that guy.”, the fan further commented about why O’Malley got the nod over Strickland.
Do you think Sean O’Malley deserves to win the President’s Choice Award? Leave your thoughts below!
