"He might be able to sharp shoot him from a distance" - Dan Hardy analyzes the upcoming Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan matchup

Petr Yan (far left), Sean O'Malley (left), and Dan Hardy (right) [Images Courtesy:@sugaseanmma and @danhardymma on Instagram]

Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley is months away but Dan Hardy is already breaking things down a bit.

On the Full Reptile YouTube channel, Hardy discussed the fallout from UFC London as well as fielding a myriad of inquiries through live Q&A.

Hardy inititally touched on the voracious appetite fans have to see O'Malley compete and how that can be a double-edged sword. As much as O'Malley gets big opportunities, that creates enormous physical tests with very real challenges.

When asked about his early thoughts on the highly intriguing UFC 280 bantamweight bout, Hardy said:

"Now Petr Yan has got an immense amount of experience throughout his master of sports in boxing, throughout his MMA career... Yan is going to be a real tough test for him [O'Malley]. He's going to try and be blunt force trauma with everything that he does... That's going to be the strength of Petr Yan in this one is that he does walk into the fire with good defense."

Dan Hardy continued:

"The benefit on O'Malley's side is that he does have an opponent that's going to walk into the fire. So as long as he can keep creating space for himself with angles to keep moving so he doesn't get cramped up against the fence, he might be able to sharp shoot him from a distance... I'm not putting it past Sean O'Malley. It might be a step too far."

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O'Malley hasn't tasted defeat across his last four fights and his flashy highlight-reel offense, coupled with his vibrant persona, have endeared him to many mixed martial arts fans.

Petr Yan's combat sports resume

'Sugar' dipped his toe into the top 10 last time out by taking on Pedro Munhoz but he is diving right into the deep end of the proverbial pool here. O'Malley is taking on a caliber of opponent here that he could easily get a title shot with a win over.

Also, the bad blood and banter have been ramping up over the last few months between these fighters.

Hey pink poodle @SugaSeanMMA , if you win on Saturday and really wanna fight me I dare you to call me out and I will accept it. But if you just wanna make useless noise for hype, stop talking about me, coward 🐩

Yan is the former UFC bantamweight world champion and has also captured interim UFC gold at 135 pounds. He debuted in the UFC in June 2018 and bested Teruto Ishihara via first-round KO at UFC Fight Night 132.

'No Mercy' has garnered significant victories against Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson as well.