“It’s a Business” – Sean O’Malley Vows to Follow the Conor McGregor Ideology

Sean O’Malley made his presence felt in his return to the Octagon at UFC 248. “Sugar” returned to the Octagon after serving a six-month ban by the USADA stemming from a drug violation. The UFC prospect is aware that his time in the sport is limited. And hence he wants to make the most of it by following the footsteps of one of the best to ever do it – Conor McGregor.

O’Malley, while talking to MMA Fighting, said that he felt like it was his debut in his knockout win over Jose Quinonez. A Dana White Contender Series product, Sean has always been a crowd favourite. Despite having only three fights under the organization’s banner, he seems to have a knack for pulling in the crowd.

“I don’t think I lost any hype going into that fight,” O’Malley said. “I think people feel that certain way when I fight, and I’m excited to get back in there and make them feel that again. It’s powerful.”

The bantamweight standout is 25 years old and will be turning 26 later this year. He has made it clear that he wishes to keep on fighting for another ten years or so. Since’s a fighter’s window is extremely small to make money, Sean doesn’t want to let it slip away. He wishes to go down the same road as Conor McGregor did.

“Conor’s career, they did pretty well with as far as building him up,” Sean said. “It’s a business. It’s a career. You can only fight for so long. You’ve got to make as much money as you possibly can. So we’re going to look at it as a business and go from there.”

Sean O’Malley wishes to fight at least three or four times in 2020

O’Malley is a highly touted young prospect. People expect him to rise through the 135-pound rankings fairly quickly. But that doesn’t undermine the fact that he isn’t even in the top 15 yet. To move forward, he has to find the perfect blend between expectation and reality.

“Once you start fighting the best guys in the world, you’re going to fight nothing but the best guys in the world. So I’m going to take it to fight by fight, take it slow. I feel like my skill level’s there, my mindset’s there and everything’s there, but it’s a balance. Trying to make this a smart career.”

A pivotal aspect of rising through the rankings is to fight several times. O’Malley was expecting to make a quick turnaround since he didn’t suffer a lot of damage at UFC 248. Some people even expected him to jump in as a short-notice replacement for Cody Garbrandt against Raphael Assuncao. However, Dana White cancelled the event due to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

The same outbreak will most likely delay his next trip to the Octagon as well. He was hoping to return to the Octagon at UFC San Diego.  However, with the way things are shaping us right now, betting on any UFC event to take place is not the safest option.