"I was concussed and my heart rate was 200" - Sean O'Malley explains why he was initially not sure whether he did enough to beat Petr Yan at UFC 280
Sean O'Malley scored the biggest win of his MMA career with a split decision victory over Petr Yan at UFC 280. However, the MMA community was divided by the decision, with many going as far as to label it a "robbery."
The look on O'Malley's face when the decision was being announced suggested that he wasn't entirely confident whether he had done enough to get his hand raised. The American explained why he was unsure of the result when the same observation was pointed out in a recent episode of the IMPAULSIVE podcast:
"I was concussed and my heart rate was 200 for like fifteen minutes. I mean you get concussed when you get hit in the head but right after the fight I was just like, 'Holy f**k'. But after rewatching it, in my mind, I won round one and three."
Watch the full episode below:
Sean O'Malley is arguably one of the biggest superstars to emerge out of Dana White's Contender Series. A well-rounded DWCS graduate, 'Sugar' leapfrogged ten spots to occupy the No.1-ranked bantamweight contender position with his victory over Yan.
He is now undefeated in his last five fights and is very close to getting a title shot soon.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Sean O’Malley is now the #1 ranked UFC Bantamweight https://t.co/fJlmcpB98H
Sean O'Malley rubbishes rumors that the UFC played a part in his decision victory over Petr Yan
Following his win over Petr Yan at UFC 280, the narrative of the UFC pushing for Sean O'Malley's victory began to pick up steam. Some believe the organization considering 'Sugar' a more potentially lucrative draw than Yan led to the controversial decision.
There is nothing to say about this masterpiece 👑
@PetrYanUFC @SugaSeanMMA https://t.co/CxTEXGZ3D1
Addressing the rumors on the aforementioned podcast, O'Malley stated:
"I don't think it did. The judges in the UFC are completely two different [bodies]... I just think if you really go back and watch it and then you understand the judging criteria is damage in a fight. No.1 thing is damage in a fight. So if there's no damage then you go to No.2 which is whatever. There's plenty of damage delt out in the first round [vs. Petr Yan]. I clearly hit him more and harder."