Former UFC bantamweight champion 'Suga' Sean O'Malley spent his New Year's Eve not in Arizona, but in Japan, where he attended the incredible RIZIN 49: Decade showcase.
Speaking to the media after the crazy 22-fight PPV event, 'Suga' revealed he would love the opportunity to fight at the iconic Saitama Super Arena, but admitted he would be wary if he were to fight under Japanese MMA rules.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Sean O'Malley Says He 'Would Love to Fight' in Japan After Watching RIZIN 49
RIZIN's New Year's Eve PPV event was incredible, with headlines dominated by an in-ring brawl involving a referee, a 6-foot-4 heavyweight scoring a KO in his debut and an 18-year-old high school student setting his sights on the UFC.
UFC superstar Sean O'Malley was also in attendance and spoke to the media after the event and revealed he would love the opportunity to compete in Japan as well.
“I mean, at this point, obviously I am [contracted] in the UFC and I plan to stay in the UFC forever – so if the UFC ever comes here, I would love to fight in this arena. There is a good energy here.”
RIZIN implements a slightly different ruleset than the UFC; namely knees on the ground and football kicks to downed opponents, the promotion also uses a boxing ring, as opposed to the UFC's chain-linked fence.
“When I went in there, I noticed that the ring was a lot softer than at the UFC [canvas]” said O'Malley, explaining how “The UFC platform is thinner, so that would be a little different.
“With the ruleset I feel like it gives me more of an advantage not to be able to get kicked in the head, because I'm not normally the one on top of someone – if I get knocked down I'm usually on my back, so that probably wouldn't be that good for me. But it would be interesting.”
While O'Malley would be cautious about fighting under Japanese MMA rules, 'Suga' celebrated the fact that the promotion continues to put on excellent NYE shows year after year.
“The production of this show is incredible, the energy in the arena is incredible, the ring girls are incredible – overall impression of Japan, this was the best trip I have ever been on, and I would love to come back. ”
Sean O'Malley, despite no longer being a UFC champion, remains one of the sport's biggest superstars, as evidenced by the UFC placing him among its top five merchandise bestsellers in 2024 .
When asked if there was a fighter who particularly impressed him during RIZIN 49: Decade, O'Malley replied: “The really big guy who danced and moved, he stood out.”
That would be 6-foot-4 heavyweight Ed Polo King, who scored a brutal first-round knockout in his professional debut – although O'Malley did have one piece of advice for the 23-year-old giant.
“You have to be able to wrestle, to compete at a high level in MMA you have to be able to wrestle, especially if you are a really good kickboxer they will try to take you down, so wrestling is probably the number one attribute that you need have in MMA.”
We may not hear from O'Malley for a while, as the UFC superstar recently announced that he is set to quit social media as he focuses on regaining his bantamweight title in 2025.
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