Sean O’Malley is anxiously awaiting his chance to ascend to the top spot in the UFC hierarchy with plans to supplant Conor McGregor sooner than later as the biggest superstar in the company.
As he prepares to headline the historic UFC 306 card from Sphere in Las Vegas — an event UFC CEO Dana White has repeatedly stated is a one and done after spending more than $20 million on production — O’Malley knows all eyes are going to be on him come Saturday night. Ever since his viral performance on The Contender Series, O’Malley has continued to grow and evolve as a fan favorite with his popularity truly exploding over these past few years.
Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’t fought in over three years after suffering a broken leg in his last outing, and there’s still no official word when he might fight again, although early 2025 is the latest estimation. Of course, O’Malley has no problem conceding that McGregor remains the biggest draw in the UFC right now but he expects that to change with one more bad result for the former two-division champion.
“I think I’m very close,” O’Malley said about becoming the biggest star in the UFC during UFC 306 media day on Wednesday. “I think Conor’s still got one more big fight in him because of the big question mark — can Conor come back, can he actually beat [Michael] Chandler? So I think Conor’s got one more huge fight.”
With a 1-3 record in his past four fights and a huge amount of inactivity on top of returning from such a devastating injury, McGregor has a lot to prove when he finally competes again.
Add to that, he’s also 36 now so youth is no longer on his side.
O’Malley can’t help but wonder if another loss wouldn’t just hammer that final nail into McGregor’s coffin as the biggest superstar on the entire UFC roster.
“If he goes out there and loses his next fight, it will be like six in a row,” O’Malley said. “It’s got to die down eventually. Maybe not. That just tests how big of a star he is, but I would assume he goes out there, he loses, I’m there. I’m the guy. I’m the No. 1.”
As far as what separates him from McGregor in terms of overall appeal with fans, O’Malley didn’t mince words with his availability to stay active versus “The Notorious” only competing four times in the UFC since 2016.
Meanwhile, O’Malley is preparing for his 16th professional fight during that same timespan with his third title bout scheduled in the past 13 months.
“I bring fights,” O’Malley said when differentiating himself from McGregor. “I fight. Often. I think that’s what it is right now.
“Conor was good on the mic, the accent, the words that he chose, he was very good on the mic. Performances, he had a couple good performances, but I’m just consistent right now. I’m fighting a lot. That’s what I bring.”
O’Malley obviously hopes to bring another jaw-dropping performance on Saturday in the second defense of his UFC bantamweight title when he faces Merab Dvalishvili.
The colorful champion has promised to deliver a stunning finish, which would only further cement his standing as perhaps the new face of the UFC>
“It could be first [round], could be second,” O’Malley predicted for his finish at UFC 306. “I could knock out Merab first, second, third, fourth or fifth. But I am leaning towards the second a little bit.”
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