Watch: Sean O'Malley shows off impressive bodylock takedown in sparring ahead of UFC 269
Sean O’Malley has displayed impressive grappling skills ahead of his upcoming fight against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. ‘Sugar' pulled off a brilliant body lock takedown against his sparring partner, also showcasing masterful elusiveness on the feet.
Taking to his official Instagram account, the 27-year-old bantamweight star posted a video of himself sparring in the lead-up to UFC 269. The video shows Sean O’Malley backing up against the fence as his sparring partner tries to unload on him with a barrage of strikes.
Sean O’Malley slips the strikes, bobs and weaves his way towards the sparring partner’s back, before scoring an excellent body lock takedown. O’Malley then appears to land a few ground strikes on the sparring partner as the video ends.
Widely regarded as a phenomenal striker, Sean O’Malley has been touted by many as a possible future UFC champion. O’Malley has competed in 15 professional MMA bouts thus far, winning 14 of them. ‘Sugar' has secured 10 wins via KO/TKO, 1 via submission, and 3 via decision.
The lone loss of his MMA career came against Marlon Vera at UFC 252 in August 2020. Sean O'Malley suffered a leg injury that severely compromised him and resulted in him losing via first-round TKO. O’Malley subsequently returned to the win column and is now on a two-fight win streak.
Watch the Instagram video, featuring Sean O'Malley's body lock takedown, below:
A win at UFC 269 could catapult Sean O’Malley into a fight against longtime rival and MMA legend Dominick Cruz
Sean O’Malley is scheduled to face fellow young bantamweight talent Raulian Paiva in a three-round bout on the main card of UFC 269 on December 11th. ‘Sugar' is currently unranked but could break into the UFC’s bantamweight top-15 should he continue his winning ways.
On that note, Sean O’Malley has called out several top-tier UFC bantamweights in recent months. One name that stands out, in particular, is former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. O’Malley has often challenged the MMA legend, even going as far as jibing at Cruz for fighting on the UFC 269 prelims.
Dominick Cruz is currently ranked No. 9 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings. He’s set to fight Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269. Considering the aforementioned variables at play, the consensus is that if O’Malley and Cruz were to both emerge victorious in their respective fights at UFC 269, the long-awaited fight between them could finally materialize in 2022.