UFC Star Planning Knockout Spree to Become ‘Bigger Than’ Conor McGregor

Getty Conor McGregor

UFC superstar Conor McGregor won’t be the biggest name in mixed martial arts for long if “Suga” Sean O’Malley gets his way.

O’Malley is already a star in the sport, but Suga believes the sky’s the limit. And while speaking with Ariel Helwani on a recent episode of “The MMA Hour,” O’Malley outlined how he could surpass McGregor’s fame.

The knockout artist gets back to action on July 2nd at UFC 276 when he takes on No. 10-ranked bantamweight Pedro Munhoz. Munhoz will be a big test for O’Malley to see if he can hang with the top combatants of 135 pounds.

The No. 13 bantamweight told Helwani that he plans to knock out Munhoz, and then follow up the victory by taking out his former opponent, Marlon “Chito” Vera.

Then, he wants to fight for the 135-pound championship and after beating Aljamain Sterling, or whoever the bantamweight king is at that point, O’Malley sees him being “close” to his fame goal.

“There’s no one doing it the way I want to do it,” O’Malley said via MMA Fighting. “There’s no one doing it the way I’m capable of doing it.  just have to go out there and win these fights and make my own lane, the same way Conor did. I think Izzy [Adesanya] is doing a really good job, he’s a super active champ. Kamaru [Usman] is doing a really good job too. … Obviously I want to be bigger than both those guys, as they want to be bigger than me and Conor and whoever. But I think I’m going to do just my own thing, my own path, and ideally, in my mind, it all starts with a dream.

“I think me wanting to be bigger than Conor can sound silly right now, but if I go out there and knock out Pedro, knock out ‘Chito’ [Vera], whoever’s champ, beat [them] down, [then] I’m the champ [and] I’m very close to that.

“Conor’s had the crazy moments with Jose Aldo and the Chad Mendes [win] and all those fights, the Nate [Diaz] fights — he’s had some sweet fights. I still have to go out there and have those sweet fights and those sweet moments to be that big, and I’m totally capable of that. I’m 27 years old. I’m a f****** animal right now and I’m excited to go out there and prove that against ‘Prelim Pedro.’”

O’Malley Last Fought in December, Owns 11 KO/TKO Wins

Besides his loss to Chito, Suga knows nothing but victory in his professional career. Boasting a 15-1 record, O’Malley is riding the momentum of a three-fight win streak. All in all, he’s finished 11 opponents by KO/TKO and one by submission, and he holds wins over notable names like Eddie Wineland, Thomas Almeida and Raulian Paiva.

Paiva is Suga’s most recent win, beating the fighter via first-round TKO at UFC 269 in December.

Munhoz Is on a 2-Fight Skid, Has Never Been Finished

Munhoz’s last bout was also during UFC 269, but, unlike O’Malley, he didn’t leave the venue victorious. He dropped a unanimous decision to former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz during the event.

It was Munhoz’s second straight defeat, and he’s 1-4 in his last five fights. But, all four of his losses came at the hands of former or current UFC champions. Further, they were all decision losses as “The Young Punisher” has never been stopped as a pro.

So, if O’Malley wants to knock out Munhoz (19-7), he’ll have to do what no other fighter has been able to do.