After a career best performance at UFC 299 Sean O’Malley shoots up the pound for pound rankings, breaking into the MMA Fighting Top 10.
Superstar Performance from Sean O’Malley
In his first title defence Sean O’Malley faced former foe Marlon Vera, the only man to defeat him. Beautiful striking was displayed throughout by the bantamweight champion and he cruised through to a unanimous decision. The scorecards were as followed 50-45, 50-45, 50-44. O’Malley seemed disappointed that he could not stop Vera. The Ecuadorian’s iron chin was in full effect in Miami. A colossal knee in the second round was the strike of the fight sounding like shotgun blast yet Vera held strong and made it to the final bell.
Post fight he called out featherweight champion Ilia Topuria as he aims to achieve double champ status. However, there is a clear number one contender at bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian has awaited his shot and now is the clear contender after a dominant display at UFC 298 against Henry Cejudo. Now after the result and call out Topuria has turned down the O’Malley super fight and insisted he fights his fellow native Dvalishvili first.
O’Malley left the arena with a boot and a wrap on his hand so a return date is unknown at this moment. Additionally, given his star power O’Malley needs to be headlining a massive card. Madrid is a stunning destination possibly welcoming home Topuria this year and O’Malley wants to share the cage that night. Alternatively, the UFC 306 card at the Sphere is also on the mind of the Bantamweight champion.
Holding Rank
Sitting now at number 8 in the UFC rankings Sean O’Malley will look to push on towards number one pound for pound. At this moment Islam Makhachev occupies that spot. He’s the only bantamweight in the pound for pound top 15, so impressive wins are needed to propel him to the top. Beating Merab Dvalishvili is one way to do that. Bookmakers have Dvalishvili as the favourite in a potential bout. Contenders like Cory Sandhagen and rising unbeaten prospect Umar Nurmagomedov are both elite names. Furthermore that pair are due for a number one contender fight in the near future.
How far up the pound for pound rankings do you think Sean O’Malley will climb?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
