Sean O'Malley's Walk-Off KO vs. Eddie Wineland at UFC 250

Getty Sean OMalley rocks Eddie Wineland

Sean O’Malley has the makings of a future star, and what he did on Saturday night at UFC 250 validates that concept.

O’Malley was supposed to be tested by veteran striker Eddie Wineland, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, it took less than two minutes for O’Malley to do this to Wineland:

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Another right hand from Suga Land

A post shared by Sugar Sean O'Malley (@sugaseanmma) on Jun 7, 2020 at 9:29pm PDT

The 25-year-old improved his record to 12-0 as a professional and the walk-off KO was his eighth win by stoppage in his career. Wineland came in as experienced as anyone you’ll find, but the loss dropped him to 24-14-1 and that was his third loss in four fights.

O’Malley’s win might land him in the rankings at 135 pounds next week, and his post-fight interview will likely garner him some fans and detractors, which means he’s becoming must-see TV.

O’Malley’s hair and fan-friendly fighting style give him an undeniable brand and presence. If he can continue to win, the sky is the limit for O’Malley. It should be noted, after the fight and during the post-event press conference, O’Malley mentioned that he wanted to renegotiate his contract to ensure he was being paid his worth.

With Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal both seemingly expressing some concerns about pay, this has become a recurring theme. We’ll see how O’Malley’s situation pans out. He hasn’t proven himself nearly as much as Jones–or even Masvidal–yet he’s already talking about being paid what he’s worth.

He may need to at least be featured in the main event on a card or challenge for a title before he can start with that talk and be taken seriously. In any case, he produced one of the best performances of the night and he earned a $50,000 bonus for his performance.

A great potential matchup for O’Malley in his next fight could be fellow young, up-and-coming bantamweight, Song Yadong. The latter is coming off a controversial victory over Marlon “Chito” Vera last month. It could be a battle between future title contenders.

Here is a look at the results from UFC 250 with the finishes in bold, along with the other bonus winners, and highlights of all the finishes just below the table.

Amanda Nunes (c) def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45)
Cody Garbrandt def. Raphael Assuncao via second-round knockout (punch) – POTN
Aljamain Sterling def. Cory Sandhagen via first-round submission (rear-naked choke) – POTN
Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland via first-round knockout (punch) – POTN
Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ian Heinisch def. Gerald Meerschaert via first-round TKO (punches)
Cody Stamann def. Brian Kelleher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd via second-round TKO (punches)
Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga via first-round TKO (leg kicks) – POTN
Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)

If anyone had a better KO or finish than O’Malley on Saturday night, it was former UFC Men’s Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt. Take a look at how he starched Raphael Assuncao in the co-main event and more.