"He’s doing it raw" - Sean O'Malley gets high praise from ex-UFC champ Kamaru Usman for not faking his rise to fame
Sean O'Malley was able to capture the UFC bantamweight title as he dethroned Aljamain Sterling with a second-round TKO at UFC 292. Former long-time reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman recently praised 'Suga' for staying authentic during his rise to fame.
During an appearance on DC & RC, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' stated:
"Sean O'Malley's one of those kids that I really love. I like seeing him. I like watching him, and not just that, I like the way that he carries himself. We're kind of in a society to where fame is supposed to come before success. That's what we were pushing on, but it's very rare for that success to actually come, and, Sean, yes of course, he announced the fame, and I think the reason he announced that fame is because it just seems real."
Usman continued:
"It seems real and authentic. This is a kid who shows you what he does. He loves to stay at home, he loves to train, he loves to smoke, and he has fun. He loves to smoke. He loves to play video games. That just happens to be a majority of where society is nowadays. So, he's doing it raw, he's doing it authentically, and it resonates through."
Check out Kamaru Usman's comments on Sean O'Malley below (starting at the 20:30 mark):
O'Malley's stardom has been on the rise since landing a first-round knockout on Dana White's Contender Series in 2017. The bantamweight champion has shared that he is looking to reach Conor McGregor's level of stardom.
Merab Dvalishvili says he will be ready for December title fight against Sean O'Malley
Sean O'Malley has expressed an interest in defending his bantamweight title for the first time at UFC 296 in December. While he has noted he would like to face Marlon 'Chito' Vera, Merab Dvalishvili has called for the bout. Speaking with Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports, 'The Machine' was asked if he will be ready to step inside the octagon in December, He said:
"One thousand percent, I will be ready. I will be ready, yes. My hand is still - the doctor just told me I can start training. I can start slowly punching and grappling, but even fight, if it is next month, then I would be ready because I don't care. I'm just going to ignore the pain and I'm just going to fight. Definitely December I will be ready. If this fight will happen, I would love to fight him."
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments on facing Sean O'Malley below:
Dvalishvili claimed that only he and Aljamain Sterling are worthy of a title opportunity. He added that O'Malley should not fight an opponent outside of the top-five or someone coming off of a loss.