Dana White Compares Sean O’Malley To Robbie Lawler After UFC 252 Loss

Dana White opened up about the implications of an injury like the one that was sustained by Sean O’Malley against Marlon Vera. Is it possible for an injury-prone fighter to make it to the top despite such obstacles along the way?

The co-main event at UFC 252 was a bantamweight clash between the undefeated Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. Sean walked into this fight hoping to notch another victory to his unblemished record but that, unfortunately, didn’t work out too well for American bantamweight phenom.

An injury that he sustained just minutes into the first round was what robbed him of the victory. A missed step or some sort of buckling led O’Malley to suffer an injury to his ankle and brought the fight to an untimely end.

He managed to stand and fight but it wasn’t long before Vera realized and capitalized on the situation.

ALSO READ- UFC 252 Prediction: Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera Prediction

The post-fight press conference saw a reporter posing a question to Dana White asking, “You have a young guy like O’Malley who is an ascending star and he has this happen to him. Is there any concern on your part that something like this may stop him from reaching his full potential?”

Dana White took this as an opportunity to draw comparisons with big names from the industry. He compared O’Malley to Robbie Lawler and even Conor McGregor.

Dana White said injuries are a part of this sport and may or may not have a long-lasting impact.

Dana White says injuries are too common in this sport

White said, “Yeah, you never know in this sport. You never know what’s going to happen. You have some guys that never have injuries.

“Look at Robbie Lawler, I mean he is one of the most durable human beings that I have ever met in my life. Some of the wars that he has been in and he’s back in the gym first thing Monday morning and then you look at a kid like O’Malley.”

White went on to say, “But even in the Conor vs Max Holloway fight, he got injured. There was a point in time where I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, another guy just blew his ACL or needs shoulder surgery.’ It was happening to us for a while there.”

What do you think? Does an injury-prone path lead to a mediocre career?