Getty Sean OMalley speaks during a presser.
UFC superstar Sean O’Malley got into a sudden beef with Bryce Mitchell after the latter claimed he was undeserving of fighting Petr Yan.
This past Saturday, O’Malley took on former interim bantamweight champion Yan at UFC 280 in his toughest test yet. ‘Suga’ Sean entered the outing as a big underdog but put in an impressive performance to earn a hard-fought win by split decision that many people felt could have swung either way.
O’Malley took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the fight following the biggest win of his career. He came across an older clip of UFC featherweight Mitchell, who was rooting for Yan to come out on top of their contest and fired back at the top-ranked 145-pound contender with a foul taunt.
“I also have to pick Yan over O’Malley,” Mitchell said. “The reason being is because once again, O’Malley hasn’t even earned that spot. He’s used his mouth to get that fight. His YouTube followers ain’t going to help him once the cage doors get locked.”
O’Malley responded, “Your dad f***ed his sister to make you.”
O’Malley Believes He Answered Some Questions at UFC 280
Coming off a no-contest decision with top-ten-ranked bantamweight Pedro Munhoz in his last outing, he took a major jump up to face the division’s top contender. There were doubts going into the matchup if O’Malley could hang with the most elite competition.
After adding a former world champion to his resume, O’Malley backed himself to take the UFC gold at some point in the future.
“It’s inevitable,” O’Malley said at the UFC 280 post-fight press conference (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I turn 28 (Sunday), and I’m going to be in this sport for a long time. People want me to be champ, so it’s going to happen sooner or later.”
There was controversy after the razor-thin decision, with many fighters and fans expressing their disapproval of the result. While there still may be doubts that remain, O’Malley believes he did enough to prove he’s more than just hype.
“‘Kick his legs,’ was the first one. Now it’s ‘You can’t just kick his legs and take him down.’ Petr kicked my legs and took me down, and still (I) won. So yeah, I’m answering questions little by little.”
O’Malley Showed Heart but Didn’t Like Getting Hit
Yan scored a massive knockdown of O’Malley during their bout, but the 28-year-old Montana native managed to endure the challenge. O’Malley was in trouble multiple times in the fight and continued to power through. As impressive as his performance was, O’Malley sees it as an area he could potentially work on.
“I don’t want to get hit ever,” he added. “It’s not healthy. It’s not good to get punched on the head. It’s not good for you to have headaches. Ideally, I go in there and not get hit. But I think it makes it even sweeter, the story – I really had to show my heart.
“I got to go deep. I had to go somewhere mentally and physically I’ve never been before, and that’s what happens when you fight the best guys in the world.”
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Sean O’Malley Destroys Bryce Mitchell With Vile Taunt After UFC 280 Dig