Sean O’ Malley Explains Why UFC Veteran Turned Down a Fight Against Him

A few weeks ago, Sean O’Malley announced that he will return to the Octagon in February next year. However, there is still no fixed opponent for the UFC bantamweight. O’Malley claims that UFC veteran Thomas Almeida was the initial opponent for him. However, as per O’Malley, Almeida turned down the fight as he felt O’Malley’s right hand is too powerful.

While speaking on ‘The Suga Show‘, O’Malley detailed how the choice for Almeida as an opponent fell through. ‘Sugar’ has his eyes fixed on Feb. 13 for his return to the Octagon. A fight with Almeida was in the works for the same date. However, the Brazilian refused to sign on the dotted line.

“I was supposed to be fighting Feb. 13 against—I didn’t say it, because I didn’t know,” O’Malley said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I got offered, Thomas Almeida. He turned it down. He said my right hand was too powerful or something along those lines of COVID or something, so he turned the fight down. Good decision on his part would have been a nasty KO.

“So we’re still looking, but that’s who I was planning on fighting. I never announced it because obviously it wasn’t official and it’s not going to be official. That fight’s not happening, still looking, but I plan on fighting in February.”

Sean O’Malley likes the idea of a fight with Dominick Cruz

Sean O’Malley last stepped inside the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 252. The fighter out of Glendale, Arizona, had his undefeated tag taken away from him, courtesy of a TKO loss at the hands of Marlon Vera. O’Malley suffered a leg injury during the fight that allowed ‘Chito’ to capitalize and end the fight via ground-and-pound.

Despite the setback, O’Malley has maintained a mental outlook where he still sees himself as undefeated. The unranked bantamweight fighter had a ton of hype surrounding him in the first half of the year. Following the setback, he will hope to return to the win column and continue his climb up the divisional ladder.

A fight against former champion Dominick Cruz would’ve been a great opportunity for O’Malley. However, the fight instead went to his friend. Casey Kenney.

“Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney just got announced. Casey Kenney’s one of my buddies I trained with for a while at the lab. That’s an interesting matchup. That’s another fight that I would have liked to get, was Cruz, but that didn’t happen, but that’s okay. I’m gonna fight someone and it’s gonna be sick,” O’Malley said.

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