"In a delusional sense, that 100%..." - Sean O'Malley explains how his title-winning feeling compares differently to that of Sean Strickland's
Sean O'Malley spoke out about what went through his head when he became champion at UFC 292 and also compared it to Sean Strickland's win at UFC 293.
The UFC has entered the Sean era with both Sean O'Malley and Sean Strickland upsetting champions to take over their respective divisions Following his historic win over Aljamain Sterling, O'Malley sat down for an interview with legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas. O'Malley was asked how it felt to become a UFC champion and what was going on in his head at that moment:
"I'll say I wasn't as emotional as I thought I would have been. You know a lot of people, if they win the world title, like Sean Strickland this weekend was like, 'I never ever in my life thought I would be there'. For me, it's different. I've known, in my mind, in a delusional sense that 100% (He would become champion)."
Teddy Atlas then interrupted the young champion to point out that it was not delusional since he achieved it. However, O'Malley was talking about the times when he was a young teenager who had never fought, going around claiming he would become world champion. He believes he started out with a little delusion which turned into a reality.
Take a look at the video (Quotes from 3:02 onwards):
Sean O'Malley believes he knocked out both Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 292
Sean O'Malley was asked if Merab Dvalishvili could be a contender for his first title defense following UFC 292. The newly crowned champion made it clear that he wanted to fight Chito Vera even before he fought Sterling. However, when asked whether 'The Funk Master's' teammate has earned a title shot, he had this to say about Dvalishvili:
"I knocked out Merab, August 19th, the same night I knocked out Aljo. They're the same, they hold hands, they're the same person, I knocked them both out August 19th. We'll see what happens, I called out the Chito (Vera) fight before me vs Aljo or Pedro vs Chito. I said, 'Hey Chito goes out there and wins, I go out there and win, I'm fighting Chito for my first title defense and that's what happened."
Take a look at the interview with Ariel Helwani:
Sean O'Malley is clear that he wants to fight Chito Vera for his first title defense and he has shut down Aljamain Sterling multiple times. The former champion has been calling for an immediate rematch but to no avail.