"I cannot imagine getting here fight week" - Sean O'Malley discusses acclimatizing to Abu Dhabi after Islam Makhachev expressed worry about Charles Oliveira
Sean O'Malley recently shed light on his decision to travel to Abu Dhabi before UFC 280 fight week. The revelation came after Islam Makhachev expressed concerns over Charles Oliveira's delay in arriving at the location of the event.
UFC 280 will feature a bantamweight clash between top-ranked contender Petr Yan and sought-after young prospect Sean O'Malley. The event is scheduled to be headlined by a clash between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev to determine the lightweight champion of the world.
Oliveira laid rest to the concerns of his opponent's team after he arrived at Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
Sean O'Malley posted a video on his YouTube channel where he spoke at length about meeting superstars in sports and entertainment like Shaquille O'Neal and Ranveer Singh. 'Sugar' also spoke about his decision to travel to Abu Dhabi ahead of his UFC 280 showdown.
The 27-year-old revealed that it was a conscious decision to get acclimatized to the new territory well before the arduous fight week ensues:
"Dude, I cannot imagine getting here fight week. I feel like I acclimated quicker because I did everything right and I still don't know if I'm one hundred percent acclimated. We'll see in the next couple of days. But I can't imagine getting here on Monday [or] Tuesday and then having to do media, weight-cut and all that s**t."
Catch the video from the 9:20 mark below:
Sean O'Malley talks about being away from his daughter for UFC 280
Sean O'Malley arrived in Abu Dhabi ahead of time for his scheduled fight against Petr Yan. The matchup against the former UFC bantamweight champion is a massive scale-up in competition for 'Sugar'.
Fighters endure severe physical torment inside the octagon. But for many, the most difficult part is the sacrifices they're expected to constantly make by spending time away from their families.
In the same interaction, O'Malley spoke about coping with the time spent away from his daughter Elena:
"It's easier when Danya [his partner] doesn't send as many videos to be honest. When she sends me the videos I start to feel like, 'Oh! I'd rather almost not.' I catch myself looking at my pictures and my videos anyway, but once you remember that's when it's harder."