"I couldn't grapple, I couldn't spar" - Sean O'Malley reveals he was '99% sure' he'd pull out of UFC 269 because of a rib injury
Sean O'Malley continued his steady rise in the UFC bantamweight division with a spectacular first-round knockout win over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. While it may have seemed like an easy night's work for 'Suga', he had to overcome a lot of adversity heading into the fight.
Suga Sean OβMalley Show π
First round KO #UFC269 https://t.co/UiREVY8Nce
During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Sean O'Malley shared how he'd almost decided to pull out of UFC 269 owing to a rib injury he suffered a while ago that hampered his training camp. O'Malley revealed that he had been unable to grapple or spar for the past three weeks and all he could do was 'run and hit mitts.'
O'Malley said he'd almost decided to pull out of the fight but later changed his mind. He said:
"I haven't grappled or sparred in three weeks. I was laying in bed one night, 99 percent sure I was going to pull out of this fight. I couldn't grapple, I couldn't spar. All I could do was run and hit mitts and I just knew how many people wanted to come out here and wanted to watch me fight and I just couldn't pull out."
Check out a clip from Sean O'Malley's post-fight octagon interview below:
"I was laying in bed one night 99% sure I was going to pull out of this fight."
βοΈ @SugaSeanMMA gave us a season finale for the ages tonight! #UFC269 https://t.co/8TifKiHVB1
"I'm a different animal" - Sean O'Malley's discusses potential showdown with Petr Yan
With the win earlier tonight, Sean O'Malley extended his record to 15-1 and is expected to break into the top 15 down the line. While 'Suga' knows he still has to work his way up the bantamweight ranks before entering the title picture, he has his sights set on current interim champion Petr Yan.
Heading into the fight with Paiva, O'Malley said he looks forward to fighting the Russian down the line. While he agrees that Yan is the more experienced and battle-proven fighter between them, O'Malley is confident his skillset will trump Yan's in a potential fight.
βI want to fight Petr Yan. I know heβs the champ and you have to beat certain people to get that fight, but thatβs a fight I want eventually... He has more high-level experience with guys [like] [Jose] Aldo, Cory [Sandhagen], Urijah [Faber]β¦ But I think Iβm just a different animal,β OβMalley told ESPN.