Sean O'Malley reveals his "biggest rival" in the UFC

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L-R Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera [Image credits- via Getty]

Sean O'Malley is amongst the brightest names to make up the ranks of the UFC’s bantamweight division. His three-fight win-streak, however, was snapped when he landed an accidental eye poke on Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 resulting in a no-contest. However, despite that, ‘Sugar’ is on the path to success in his UFC career.

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In an interview with Jake Paul on his YouTube channel BS w/ Jake Paul, O’Malley and Paul discussed a number of topics. However, when 'The Problem Child' asked the Montana native whether Henry Cejudo was hisrivalst rival, to which 'Sugar' responded:

"He’s fat, he’s short, he’s ugly, he’s not even in the UFC anymore I would say he’s not my rival. My biggest rival? I would say probably the ‘Chito’ Vera fight, that probably would be the biggest one, not the biggest fight but the biggest rival. The first fight went the way it went you know, that’s one I’m going to get back eventually.”

‘Sugar’ went on to explain that despite ‘Chito’ being his biggest rival, Petr Yan has certainly been on his radar for a long time.

“I’d say that ‘Chito’ Vera would be my biggest ‘rival’ if you wanted to call it that. But you know, me and Petr had a lot of good back and forth and I’m really f*****g excited about that one man.”

Catch the full interview with O'Malley below:

While O'Malley will hope to rematch Vera down the line, he has a monumental task ahead of him. The surging bantamweight is gearing up for a three-round bout against former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.

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Sean O'Malley talks about accepting Petr Yan fight the very moment it was offered

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Sean O'Malley will be making his next UFC appearance against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC UFC 280. The massive match-up will feature on one of the most action-packed cards of the year and is being eagerly looked forward to by fight fans across the world.

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For O'Malley, this will be his first fight against a former UFC champion, which is why he accepted the fight within "seconds" of being offered it. In an interview with Full Send MMA, 'Sugar' gave props to Yan, labeling the former champion "as good as they come." However, the 27-year-old is of the belief that he is more than ready to take on the Russian.

Check out the complete interview with 'Sugar' below:

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Sean O'Malley also spoke about the fact that it is these kinds of match-ups that "create a superstar." He also believes he hasn't been able to show his true potential in any of his fights, and is confident that a former champion like Petr Yan will be able to bring out the best in him.

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