Sean O'Malley hopes he can become as big of a pay-per-view draw as Conor McGregor.
O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has become one of the most popular fighters on the roster, and all but one of his eight UFC fights have been featured on pay-per-view events. He meets ex-champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in what will be his biggest fight to date.
“The Suga Show” has yet to headline a UFC event, but looks up to McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and the kind of impact he’s had on the sport. McGregor owns five of the top six most pay-per-view buys in UFC history, including the No. 1 spot for his grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
“I mean, it’s crazy to think any time Conor fights, that’s a million buys,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “That’s so legendary. That’s the sh*t I want. That’s what makes me so excited about fighting, and the career, and everything. It’s like, doing big pay-per-views, being a part of massive events – that’s so exciting.”
The fight O’Malley sees kickstarting his own big pay-per-view numbers is a rematch with Marlon Vera. ‘Chito’ handed O’Malley his first and only octagon loss at UFC 252, a setback O’Mallley has had a hard time coming to terms with. Vera landed a leg kick that hit O’Malley’s peroneal nerve, causing him to tumble down and get finished with some heavy ground and pound strikes.
Since beating O’Malley, Vera (22-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) has gone 4-1, and most recently knocked out ex-champ Dominick Cruz at UFC on ESPN 41 earlier this month. O’Malley hopes to capture the bantamweight belt, then run things back with Vera in a title fight.
“Ever since that ‘Chito’ fight happened at UFC 252, ‘Oh you’ve got to get the rematch, you’ve got to get the rematch.’ I win a fight, he wins a fight. ‘Get the rematch, get the rematch.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no – let’s wait.’ This is a big fight. I believe me vs. ‘Chito’ will be a massive fight, and it’s getting closer.
“Imagine I go out there, boom – beat Petr. Boom, beat whoever has the belt. Boom, me vs. ‘Chito’ rematch, pay-per-view. You’re telling me that doesn’t do good numbers? That is a big fight. That is a massive f*cking fight.”
