Former UFC champion jibes at Sean O'Malley in response to comments about separate women's MMA promotion
Former UFC champion Cris Cyborg has jibed at 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley after his recent comments regarding women's MMA.
O'Malley suggested that although women's MMA fighters in the UFC are undoubtedly skilled, it'd be interesting to see if they can garner fan interest without men's fights on their cards.
'Sugar' proposed that a WUFC (Women's UFC) organization could be formed that would be separate from the UFC, akin to the WNBA and NBA. He insinuated that the box office draw and entertainment value an all-women's UFC organization would bring might be lower than that of the men. On episode #239 of the Timbo Sugar Show podcast, O'Malley stated:
“What if there was a ‘WUFC?’ What if they had their own program? Would it last? Would they be able to sell pay-per-views, would it sell out arenas? It’s still the UFC, it’s still Dana, it’s still the UFC pushing these fights and promoting them… Would it last? We’re not saying they’re not good. We’re talking from a pure entertainment point of view."
Check out O'Malley's comments below:
Former UFC women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg responded by taking a jab at Sean O'Malley. Cyborg alluded to the fact that she'd headlined the UFC 222 event back in March 2018, with O'Malley fighting on her undercard.
Cris Cyborg defended her UFC women's featherweight belt by defeating Yana Kunitskaya via first-round TKO at UFC 222. Meanwhile, 'Sugar' faced Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222 and won via unanimous decision. Indicating that the UFC used her star power to introduce the then-rising star O'Malley to the MMA audience, Cyborg tweeted:
"I remember the Suga Show fighting on my undercards… UFC was trying to introduce him to the market. I can’t remember but I think he lost that night."
I remember the Suga Show fighting on my undercards…UFC was trying to introduce him to the market.
I can’t remember but I think he lost that night. twitter.com/mmafighting/st…
'Sugar' Sean O'Malley looks to capture UFC gold, while Cris Cyborg prepares to defend her Bellator throne
The 28-year-old Sean O'Malley has been touted by many as a future UFC champion. The No.2-ranked UFC bantamweight competitor is coming off a split decision victory over former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan in October 2022. O'Malley is scheduled to face reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling for the latter's title next.
The Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley UFC bantamweight championship matchup will headline the UFC 292 event on August 19th, 2023.
Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley on August 19 at UFC 292 in Boston, UFC announced on Tuesday. https://t.co/b0fmL3BD1Q
Meanwhile, former UFC women's featherweight champion and current Bellator women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg is likely to return to the Bellator cage later this year. The 37-year-old is riding high on a dominant performance against Arlene Blencowe, whom she defeated via unanimous decision in April 2022.
The consensus is that Cyborg could defend her Bellator featherweight throne against longtime rival and fellow former UFC star Cat Zingano next.
Cris Cyborg has re-signed with Bellator on a multi-fight deal, the promotion announced Thursday.
Cyborg had been a free agent since last summer, though she has remained Bellator women’s featherweight champion. https://t.co/iFoK02YYbN