"I'm Michael Jordan in the 4th" - Sean O'Malley explains to Daniel Cormier why he looks up at the clock during fights
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier recently asked bantamweight fighter Sean O'Malley why he looks up at the clock during his fights.
Cormier's curiosity stems from a fan misconception. When a fighter is checking the clock, it often means that they're fatigued and looking at how much longer they have left to survive the round. The 43-year-old wanted to know if that's the case, and if it isn't, whether 'Sugar' could explain the actual reason to fans who may think he's running out of gas in the tank.
On the DC & RC show, Sean O'Malley explained why he looks at the clock and assured the hosts that it has nothing to do with fatigue.
"I'm Michael Jordan in the 4th and there's two minutes left. I got to know how much time there is, I gotta know how many points I have to score to win the game, It's always fourth quarter in the fight. It doesn't matter if it's first round, second round, third round... I'm very experienced, I've had a lot of fights. 15 minutes is a long time to fight and I want to make sure I have the energy to last the entire 15 minutes. I want to be energy efficent in there."
Catch Sean O'Malley on Daniel Cormer and Ryan Clark's show below:
Although known for his devastating knockouts in the bantamweight division, throughout O'Malley's seven fights in the UFC, he's been taken to the third round on three occasions. 'Sugar' has won every fight that entered the final round, winning two via KO and the other by decision.
Aside from his one TKO loss to Chito Vera, O'Malley has never looked in any real danger in the octagon. The No.13-ranked bantamweight is currently tied for the second-most KO wins in the division, finishing five of his seven fights in the UFC.
The Montana native's toughest test to date will come on July 3 when he faces No.10-ranked Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 next month.
Sean O'Malley signs new UFC contract, wants to make milllions of dollars
Rising star Sean O'Malley has huge aspirations for his career in the UFC. Already a fan favourite due to his KO power and style, 'Sugar' is tipped to have a successful career in MMA but wants to make a lot of money while doing so.
During the same interview, the 27-year-old confirmed that he's signed a new contract with the UFC, with the goal being to eventually make millions of dollars every time he steps into the octagon.
"I actually recently sat down with the UFC. Re-signed with them...I go in there and I say, 'Hey, I wanna make this amount of money. How do I do that? What do I need to do as a business partner to the UFC to end up making the amount of money I wanna make.' For me, I wanna get to point where I'm making a million dollars a fight. Obviously I'm not there right now and that's not what I'm expecting to make against Pedro. But that's where my mind's at."