"He's got the NELK Boys pushing him" - Dominick Cruz on why fighters are tempted to repeatedly call out Sean O'Malley

Dominick Cruz on Sean O'Malley and the NELK Boys [Photo credit: YouTube.com]

Dominick Cruz believes the NELK Boys may have something to do with Sean O'Malley's popularity.

O'Malley is one of the UFC fighters with the biggest fanbases on social media. As far as Cruz is concerned, that's precisely why bantamweight fighters desperately want a matchup against the 27-year-old. During an interview with The Schmo, Cruz said:

"The reason why people are calling out O'Malley was because he's got the NELK Boys pushing him so he's obviously got that YouTube push behind him, which a lot of the fighters in the division don't have that kind of push behind them. Even Dana has been on that podcast with them... So because of that, that's why everybody's calling out O'Malley. He's got a big name behind him, he's got a lot of following."

Catch Dominick Cruz's comments in the clip below:

O'Malley's relationship with the NELK Boys is well-documented. The rising UFC bantamweight star has appeared on the prankster group's podcast on multiple occasions. On top of that, 'Sugar' was once spotted partying with the group in Miami.

The Nelk Boys are famous for their comedy videos and have over seven million subscribers on YouTube. Kyle Forgeard, a member of the group, recently went viral after he received $250,000 from UFC president Dana White.

Sean O'Malley to face Petr Yan at UFC 280

Sean O'Malley is gearing up for a massive step up in competition after the 27-year-old reportedly agreed to take on former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan.

O'Malley, during a recent episode of ESPN MMA's DC & RC Show, announced that he's fighting Yan at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi. The No.13-ranked bantamweight said:

"I'm getting a fight that I wanted and the fight that people want. I'm fighting Petr Yan on October 22nd in Abu Dhabi. I'm so excited for this. I almost can't even believe it's real, it's happening."

.@SugaSeanMMA announced during an interview with @Realrclark25 that he will fight @PetrYanUFC next at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi 📍 https://t.co/MDiRGLZNuW

The last time O'Malley fought was at UFC 276 earlier this month. Unfortunately, the bout ended in controversy after it was ruled a no-contest due to an accidental eye-poke from 'Sugar'.

Meanwhile, Yan is coming off back-to-back losses against Aljamain Sterling. 'No Mercy' dropped the title after being disqualified at UFC 259 and failed to reclaim it when 'Funk Master' outpointed him in the co-main event of UFC 273.