Former UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley does not let his history change his opinion about their talents with one hunter.
O'Malley quickly became a must-watch TV in the UFC after announcing his arrival with one of the best Dana White's Contender Series versions so far.
A number of highlight-reel moments followed, with brutal knockouts against people like Eddie Wineland and Thomas Almeida who drives off 'Suga' the ladder and eventually to the Bantamweight title in 2022.
While he is high on his own talents, O'Malley is also a sharp viewer of the sport away from the cage. And he has a special rating when looking at one of his former rivals to work.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
Sean O'Malley calls Petr Yan as one of his favorite UFC hunters to watch
During a recent performance on the overogs -podcast with former UFC hunter Mike Perry, O'Malley responded to Petr Yan's latest victory in the Octagon.
Yan beat the teammate of O'Malley at UFC Abu Dhabi at the end of July and squeezed a hard-fought decision winning victory on Marcus Mcghee to successfully defend his top five place in the ranking of Bantamweight.
While the couple had a heated structure and consequences for their 2022 fight, O'Malley Yan still praised as one of the hunters he likes to see most in action.
“Petr is one of my favorite guys to watch,” said O'Malley. “I'm sure he is one of the favorite guys of most people to watch.
“He is so technical, so nice to look at. Yes, that (Yan's victory over Mcghee) was a great fight to see,” he added
Petr Yan claims that he defeated Sean O'Malley on UFC 280
Almost three years after their battle in Abu Dhabi, Yan is still convinced that he was robbed by the judges against O'Malley.
The two fought at UFC 280, a pay-per-view with head by Islam Makhachev who defeated Charles Oliveira to become lightweight champion. Before that main event resulted and the successful defending defense of Aljamain Sterling against TJ Dillashaw in the Co-Headliner, O'Malley and Yan insured battle of the night after exchanging brutal strokes in their three-round match.
The split decision eventually went the way of 'Suga', to the great dismay of the Russian. And even to this day, Yan still does not recognize the O'Malley defeat.
“I, personally, I don't think I had three losses (in a row),” Yan told UFC.com about his past loss Skid.
“I defeated Sean O'Malley. I had a close struggle with Aljamain Sterling that I think I won, and the only fight I lost against Merab, and I had reasons for such a performance.
“So, I never thought I had three losses,” Yan added.