"It hurts" - Sean O'Malley provides injury update; reveals he has "quadriceps tendonitis"
Sean O'Malley recently revealed that he has a knee injury that is preventing him from training comfortably. The up-and-coming bantamweight star recently explained the nature of his injury and shared that he has quadricep tendonitis.
During a recent episode of The TimboSugar Show, O'Malley said:
"I finally have an idea what's wrong with my knee. Because I've been like to train hard and then I'll be like dude, I can't f*cking hits mitts today cause my knee is so f*cking sore. Quadricep tendonitis."
O'Malley further went on to share what kind of therapy he has been recommended. He added:
"So, they just said physical therapy, take a couple of weeks off from grappling and like being on, but just walking around California cause Danny [O'Malley's partner] and I were just in California, took Elena, f*cking just... It hurts!"
Watch O'Malley discuss his knee injury below:
Sean O'Malley is no stranger to leg injuries. He took on Marlon Vera in August 2020 at UFC 252. Vera landed a leg kick in the first round that hit the peroneal nerve in O’Malley’s calf. This caused the ‘drop-foot’ phenomenon – something we’ve seen only a handful of times in the octagon.
Vera subsequently finished O’Malley after the latter effectively became a one-legged fighter.
"Something's wrong with O'Malley's leg." #UFC252 https://t.co/jgJ1zaFBpU
In his second UFC fight against Andre Soukhamthath, O'Malley hurt his leg in the third round after dominating the previous two. A kick from his opponent in the third round buckled his leg and he, yet again, effectively became a one-legged fighter.
Nevertheless, he managed to make it to the final bell and came away with a unanimous decision win. He did his post-fight interview while on the ground and had to be stretchered out of the octagon soon after.
Watch his post-fight interview following his win over Andre Soukhamthath below:
Sean O'Malley's UFC career so far
Sean O'Malley joined the UFC following a sensational KO victory on Dana White's Contender Series. He won his next four fights in the promotion before suffering the first loss of his career against Marlon Vera at UFC 252 in 2020. O'Malley bounced back from that loss with three KO/TKO wins over Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho and Raulian Paiva.
The win over Paiva at UFC 269 last year saw O'Malley break into the UFC bantamweight rankings. He now occupies the No.12 spot in the bantamweight pecking order and is likely set to fight fellow ranked opponents going forward.
No.11-ranked Frankie Edgar, No.9-ranked Pedro Munhoz and No.7-ranked Dominick Cruz are currently without a fight. All three veterans could potentially take on O'Malley next. Additionally, a rematch with No.8-ranked Marlon Vera remains on the cards.
It remains to be seen who he takes on next.