Sean O’Malley has never hidden the fact that he looked up to Conor McGregor as one of the fighters he wanted to model his career after, but the two UFC superstars went through a rough patch not that long ago.
It all started with McGregor mentioning O’Malley alongside boxer Ryan Garcia after he tested positive for the same banned substance as the former UFC bantamweight champion when he had his win against Devin Haney overturned to a no-contest. O’Malley and McGregor ended up exchanging more than a few nasty messages through interviews and social media, but it appears they’ve finally squashed whatever beef there was between them.
In the leadup to his rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316, O’Malley watched a lot of fights for inspiration including McGregor’s barnburner rematch against Nate Diaz from 2016 when the former two-division champion avenged his first ever loss in the octagon. McGregor later commented that he was “very excited” for O’Malley’s rematch and commended him for similar preparation when he had to avenge his own loss to Diaz.
Very reminiscent of my Diaz 2 prep.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 3, 2025
Intriguing!
BIG FIGHT FEEL! @ufc https://t.co/fUi9bvbxrP
“Hell yeah, I’ll take it,” O’Malley said reacting to McGregor’s comments during UFC 316 media day. “I’ll forever be a huge Conor fan.
“I feel grateful to be able to watch his come up in my generation, I watched it happen. I think we’ll look back, he had one of the craziest careers. It’s cool to be able to watch it happen while I was getting into the UFC and everything. I’m pumped the relationship is back to good.”
Now O’Malley admits that McGregor wasn’t the only fighter he was studying as he attempts to get back on track against Dvalishvili on Saturday.
While he definitely had McGregor vs. Diaz 2 on his playlist, O’Malley says he was studying a lot of other rematches and past performances to gain inspiration as he attempts to knock off Dvalishvili and reclaim the bantamweight title.
“So I was watching Conor-Nate — I’ve just been watching a bunch of fights, we just have cameras recording so much, I didn’t realize that was a moment that got captured,” O’Malley said. “I’ve been watching a bunch of fights.
“I’ve been watching some rematches, watched Chuck [Liddell] versus Randy [Couture]. I’ve never watched Chuck Liddell fights. Obviously, I knew who he was, but I’ve never [watched his fights]. So I’ve been watching a lot of old school fights, it’s been cool.”
That said, O’Malley still has a ton of admiration for McGregor and the way he conquered the world while becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously after he win both lightweight and featherweight gold.
From his showmanship outside the cage to his blistering performances inside the octagon, O’Malley knows there’s always something to gain from watching McGregor at his peak.
“I’ve always taken inspiration from Conor fights,” O’Malley said. “I’ve watched Conor fights more than probably any [fights] — well [I watch] my fights more — but I’ve watched a lot of Conor fights.”
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