"My best round was my third round" - Sean O'Malley claps back at critics who claimed a longer fight would work against him, breaks down UFC 280 bout
Sean O'Malley has been getting a lot of heat from some fans and analysts following his fight with Petr Yan at UFC 280.
O'Malley picked up a hard-fought split decision victory against 'No Mercy' with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28 in favor of 'Sugar'. However, many in the MMA community did not agree with the result. According to them, Yan should have gotten his hand raised instead.
Some have also continued to question O'Malley's capabilities after the fight by suggesting that a five-round matchup against Yan would have told a different story.
On the latest episode of the BROMALLEY podcast, the 28-year-old responded by arguing that he performed his best in the third and final round. He feels the narrative that a 25-minute contest would have worked against him is baseless.
'Sugar' then went on to break down his fight and how he fared in each round:
"They were like, 'Sean's lucky it's not five rounds.' It's like, well, my best round was my third round. So, let's run it down. I finally got to re-watch it... Round one, I thought it was a close round. Definitely, I did more damage. He got a couple of takedowns, didn't really do anything with the takedowns... Round two was even pretty close. I cracked him, he cracked me back. I could see how you give him the round though, for sure... Then, round three was definitely my best round. For sure did way more damage."
Watch the full episode of the podcast below:
Dana White reacts to Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan
UFC president Dana White has weighed in on the recently concluded bantamweight clash between Sean O'Malley and Petr Yan.
During the UFC 280 post-fight press conference, White said that either of the two 135-pounders could have walked away with a victory that night as the fight was a closely contested affair.
"It was one of those razor-thin close fights. I could see people saying Yan won the fight and I could see people saying O'Malley won the fight."
Watch Dana White's reaction to Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan below:
With a victory at UFC 280, O'Malley made a huge jump in the rankings and is now placed number one among bantamweight contenders. Although no official announcement has been made, the new ranking, along with his five-fight undefeated streak, makes a compelling case for a title shot.
Having said that, White mentioned Henry Cejudo's name during the press-conference. If 'Triple C' fights Aljamain Sterling next, 'Sugar' might have to secure one more win to fight for bantamweight gold.