"I've always looked for the toughest fights I possibly could find" - Kris Moutinho discusses Sean O'Malley fight following UFC release
Following his release from the UFC, Kris Moutinho opened up about being thrown into the fire against Sean O'Malley and why he gravitates towards the toughest fights possible.
The 30-year-old was a short-notice replacement to face 'Sugar' and earned many fans' respect when he took a beating but refused to give up, pushing the flashy bantamweight to his limits. Despite soldiering on through a barrage of offense, the 135lber took too much damage, leaving Herb Dean no choice but to stop the fight.
While speaking in a recent interview, Kris Moutinho detailed his immediate thoughts about the UFC and explained why he has no regrets about taking the Sean O'Malley matchup:
"There was a fight [against Sean O'Malley] where I was a punching bag... Knowing that I was down [in the O'Malley fight] was a lot funner for me, regardless of what it is, whether it was a tough task or very unlikely I was gonna win, whatever... Those are the fights I like, I like being the guy that's not supposed to do it. There's no pressure, there's no stupid comments, you just go do that stuff, so that's why my whole career, I've always looked for the toughest fights I possibly could find."
After being outclassed by the No.13-ranked bantamweight, Kris Moutinho went on to suffer another one-sided defeat in his second and final UFC appearance. Earlier this year, after eight months outside the cage, the fighter of Portuguese descent was finished in the first round of his clash with Guido Cannetti.
Check out what the former UFC athlete had to say about his time with the company in the video below:
Sean O'Malley's push towards a UFC titleshot
Despite an accidental eye-poke cutting short his fight against Pedro Munhoz last time out, Sean O'Malley finds himself just months away from his toughest test to date when he faces Petr Yan at UFC 280.
Although he is yet to beat anybody ranked inside the top 10, with his only ranked win coming against the former No.15-ranked Raulian Paiva, the 27-year-old's sheer dominance inside the octagon has done enough to earn him a jump up in competition.
Throughout his five-year UFC career, the knockout artist has proved he's able to hang with some of the elite fighters at bantamweight and has a chance to prove the doubters wrong against the skilled Russian on October 22.