"Losing to Petr wouldn't be the end of the train" - Sean O'Malley acknowledges Petr Yan's credibility as the No.1 bantamweight, says he will rise to the top eventually

Sean O'Malley (L) Petr Yan (R) [Credits: Instagram @sugaseanmma @petr_yan]

Sean O'Malley, while in London as a guest fighter for UFC Fight Night, spoke about his recently announced bout with Petr Yan.

'Sugar' was asked what the Yan bout meant for him, specifically about what testing himself against a fighter of Yan's caliber would mean. O'Malley, for once, gave Yan some credit, saying even a loss to 'No Mercy' wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Say I go out there and lose to Petr. I'm not gonna lose confidence, I'm not gonna be like 'Oh I suck'. It's like I lost to the number one guy in the world, I'm gonna get that back someday... losing to Petr wouldn't be the end of the train. I'm still going to be champ."

O'Malley presents an interesting approach and mentality here, as often fighters don't admit the possibility of defeat before a fight. However, O'Malley is also projecting confidence in his belief that he isn't going anywhere and will someday be a champ.

Regardless, this will certainly be O'Malley's first real test inside the octagon with the upper echelon of competition. For it to be against a fighter such as Petr 'No Mercy' Yan will truly reveal where O'Malley really stands in the bantamweight division.

You can watch the full interview with O'Malley below:

Sean O'Malley: Cody Garbrandt got knocked out when he learned of his fight with Petr Yan

Sean O'Malley continues his field day with Cody Garbrandt. Never missing a chance to drag Garbrandt's name down, O'Malley decided to throw a jab at him after his fight with Yan was announced. 'Sugar' took to Twitter to say:

Idk if it’s true or not but I heard Cody G got knocked out when he heard I was fighting Peter.

O'Malley here is poking fun at the fact that Garbrandt has lost four of his last five fights by knockout or technical knockout. The two previously had to be separated at the UFC 269 press conference.

It looked like a fight between the two was brewing, until of course, Garbrandt was then knocked out by Kai Kara France. Although O'Malley is currently on a better trajectory than Garbrandt, 'No Love' takes the cake when it comes to career accomplishments.

Garbrandt famously went on an 11-0 undefeated run, claiming the bantamweight championship along the way.

O'Malley has since claimed a fight with Garbrandt "makes no sense", although depending on how the Yan fight shapes out, it may be a possibility in the future.