“That was bad a**” - Sean O’Malley showers Robert Whittaker with praise during interview for “super impressive” UFC 298 win
Sean O’Malley recently expressed his admiration for Robert Whittaker following the latter's performance against Paulo Costa at UFC 298.
Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion, suffered his first non-title fight loss in a decade when Dricus du Plessis knocked him out at UFC 290.
Many considered this to be the beginning of Whittaker’s decline. However, the 33-year-old proved his doubters wrong with a strong performance against Paulo Costa at UFC 298 and walked away with a unanimous decision win.
Recently, Whittaker joined Fox Sports Australia to interact with UFC 299 headliner Sean O’Malley. ‘Suga’ witnessed Whittaker’s recent win and congratulated him for prevailing in a closely contested fight, saying:
“First off, congratulations on a beautiful performance over [Paulo] Costa. That was a bad a** fight. I was there live. That was super impressive.”
Watch O’Malley make the statement below (5:40):
At UFC 298, Whittaker had a lot of trouble with Costa’s high kicks and jabs, which seemed to have no tell. Whittaker was almost knocked out by a sneaky high kick in the closing seconds or round 1. However, the former champion rallied from the setback and put on a great performance to claim the victory.
Robert Whittaker highlights what impresses him the most about Sean O’malley’s fighting style
Sean O’Malley gained notoriety in the UFC with his creative striking and finishing ability. While the efficacy of his fighting style was initially questioned by many, ‘Sugar’ silenced the critics by knocking Aljamain Sterling out to win the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 292.
While discussing what makes O’Malley an effective MMA fighter, Robert Whittaker said (from 11:02 of the same video):
“I think he has this uncanny ability to find his mark. His accuracy and his pinpoint precision along with his timing."
He added:
"I think it's his eyes, it's his timing, his spacing, he does things very well. Not only that though! He has this other side of the coin which is that superstar kind of power, that social media influence."
O’Malley will attempt the first defense of his UFC bantamweight title against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in the main event of UFC 299. Vera handed O’Malley the only loss of his professional MMA career in August 2020.
UFC 299 will take place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami Florida. A five-round non-title fight between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis will serve as the co-main event.