Sean O'Malley warns that Sean Strickland needs to be in fight camp to avoid causing trouble: "Ticking time bomb"
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley recently suggested that Sean Strickland should be in a fight camp to avoid getting into fights outside the octagon. Strickland is known for his brash and outspoken personality, which is often attributed to his difficult upbringing and troubled past.
Since losing the UFC middleweight title to Dricus du Plessis in a closely contested fight in January, Strickland has been campaigning for a rematch. However, the UFC appears to be working on a different plan of action. Strickland got back in the win column with a dominant victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 on June 1, strengthening his case for the title shot.
In the recent episode of the TimboSugaShow podcast, a fan asked O'Malley to share his thoughts on whether Strickland should wait for the title shot or take another fight in the meantime. O'Malley responded:
"Here's my opinion - Should Sean Strickland wait for the title shot? I think absolutely not. Sean Strickland is a ticking time bomb. He is going to murder somebody, he's going to go off the loose cadet, he's going to get in a road rage incident. He's going to shoot somebody, he's going to get out and going to beat a poot innocent civilian if he's not in a fight camp. He needs to be in a fight camp. He needs a fight coming up. He needs to stay dialed in or he is a loose cadet."
Catch Sean O'Malley's comments below (17:23):
While Strickland has made several controversial remarks on sensitive topics, he has not displayed violent behavior barring the exception of the UFC 296 altercation with Du Plessis.
Sean O'Malley praised Sean Strickland's fighting style after 'Tarzan' defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302
Sean Strickland's winning performance against Paulo Costa was widely appreciated as the former champion displayed solid fundamentals and impregnable defense en route to a split-decision victory.
Costa invested heavily in body leg kicks and body shots to eliminate Strickland's perceived cardio advantage. However, he failed to put together a meaningful offense. This pattern was also observed in Strickland's UFC 293 win over Israel Adesanya.
Reacting to Strickland's UFC 302 victory, Sean O'Malley shared his thoughts on the 33-year-old's fighting style and said:
"His style is so sweet. He is primarily orthodox, but he'll march at you checking kicks into southpaw, throwing teeps from both stances. His eyes are so good, he's hard to hit on his chin, unless you are Alex Pereira, he hit him on the chin, but yeah that would be a nightmare fight... You could tell, at the end of the first round, you're like, this isn't good. This is not looking good for Costa."
Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below (0:29):