"If he wants to get beat up for 15 minutes I'm down" - Sean O'Malley discusses Raulian Paiva's impressive durability ahead of UFC 269
Sean O’Malley's UFC 269 opponent Raulian Paiva has been stopped just twice, via TKO and submission respectively, in his MMA career. On that note, O’Malley has suggested that although Paiva is a dangerous and durable opponent, he’ll beat him up regardless.
‘Suga’ was in attendance for the UFC 269 media day and fielded multiple questions ahead of his fight. Upon being asked for his views on Raulian Paiva as an opponent, Sean O’Malley stated:
“Yeah, he’s dangerous, you know. Anybody in the UFC is going to be a dangerous opponent. I think Paiva’s dangerous. He’s very tough. We saw it in the last fight. My buddy Kyler [Phillips], you know, really if you; he beat him up. And Paiva somehow won that fight.”
“So, in my eyes, he [Paiva] is coming off a loss, really. Like, I thought my buddy beat him. He’s a dangerous opponent; to show that much heart. You know, Kyler was hitting him with some hard shots, and he stayed up. You know, I just went through a fight like that with Kris [Moutinho]. So, I think, you know, going through that last fight, shows that I can, you know, I’m not gonna get tired beating someone up. So, if he wants to get beat up for 15 minutes, I’m down.”
Watch Sean O’Malley partake in the UFC 269 media day session in the video below:
UFC 269 will close the year with an absolutely stacked card
The UFC’s final pay-per-view of the 2021 calendar year is truly stacked, featuring exciting stylistic clashes between up-and-coming fighters and the return of veterans. Sean O’Malley, one of the brightest young stars in MMA today, will fight Raulian Paiva on the main card of UFC 269.
Elsewhere on the UFC 269 main card, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt makes his long-awaited flyweight debut, as ‘No Love’ faces Kai Kara-France. Geoff Neal and Santiago Ponzinibbio look to make a statement in a thrilling showdown of welterweight KO artists.
In addition to several other intriguing matchups, the UFC 269 event will also witness the return of former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who continues his quest to reclaim his belt. ‘The Dominator’ will face Pedro Munhoz in the UFC 269 prelims.
UFC 269 will be headlined by a UFC lightweight title fight between reigning champion Charles Oliveira and challenger Dustin Poirier. Meanwhile, the UFC 269 co-headliner will see UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes defend her bantamweight title against Julianna Pena. UFC 269 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on December 11th.