Sean O'Malley claims he's unaffected by criticism from fans and media following win over Petr Yan UFC 280 - "It'd be me being weak-minded"

Sean O'Malley's split decision win against Petr Yan has been deemed controversial by fans and pundits alike. However, O'Malley claims to be unaffected by media criticism of his win.

Arguably one of the biggest stars in the sport today, 'Sugar' claims to have learnt to deal with criticism along with his growth. Irrespective of the controversy, O'Malley certainly stood up to the toughest test of his career, going the distance in a back-and-forth battle with one of the toughest bantamweights on the planet.

When asked about the post-fight narrative, the 27-year-old said on the IMPAULSIVE podcast:

"The media really doesn't affect me. Like those guys that are talking shit are just so stupid. I feel like if it did affect me, it'd be me being weak-minded. And I feel like everything I have worked on in myself in the last five-six years, growing, becoming famous, it's to deal with that stuff."

He added:

"So I'm not affected by it. And the people that I respect, like I respect their opinions; all those guys are like, 'Dude that was so entertaining.'"

Catch Sean O'Malley's comments (1:00:53) below:

Sean O'Malley - Aljamain Sterling - Henry Cejudo: the bantamweight title saga so far

Sean O'Malley's UFC 280 clash against Petr Yan was widely considered the No.1 contender bout despite Dana White never confirming the same. During the UFC 280 post-fight media scrum, White dropped Henry Cejudo's name out of the blue when asked about the next bantamweight title contender.

Cejudo and Sterling were even linked to a UFC 284 clash, scheduled for February 2023 in Perth. However, 'Funk Master' recently claimed that he will not return before mid-2023, shutting down any talks of making a February appearance in Australia.

'Triple C' shifted his focus to O'Malley, calling for an interim title fight. 'Sugar' has now claimed that Cejudo is desperate to return to the octagon as he is broke. He said on The MMA Hour:

“I heard from someone close to Henry that he’s got like $37 in the bank and he’s literally doing anything to try and book a fight and get some money. I don’t know Henry’s like opening main card, co-main event dude. Even if him and Aljo go fight it’ll be a co-main event on some card."

Catch Sean O'Malley's comments below:

.@SugaSeanMMA responds to Henry Cejudo's callout 👀 #TheMMAHour

"I heard from someone close to Henry that's he got like $37 in the bank and he's literally trying to do anything to get some money."

▶️ youtu.be/OcZpb9s9KdM https://t.co/FPtNkyp18V