"A freak accident happened" - Sean O'Malley continues to disacknowledge his loss to Marlon Vera
Sean O'Malley continues to downplay his first-round TKO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252.
The 27-year-old claims he was hindered by an injury during his fight with Vera. With O'Malley's movement compromised, 'Chito' was able to take advantage and force a first-round stoppage.
During an appearance on the Full Send Podcast, O'Malley was asked about his loss to Vera. 'Sugar' elaborated on the injury he suffered during the fight:
"I got kicked in the peroneal nerve. There's the nerve right here behind your knee. It made my leg go completely numb... I had limp foot. Every time I'd step forward, I'd roll my ankle. And I blitzed this dude and threw some punches and fell down on my back. He got on top, elbowed me. Ref stopped it."
He then commented on why he doesn't acknowledge it as a loss:
"I don't feel like I lost that fight because my skills were worse than his. I think a freak accident happened. How many thousands of leg kicks have landed in the UFC and how many times has that happened? It probably happened three or four times."
O'Malley added that he wouldn't consider it a victory if he found himself on the other side of the result. He further emphasized that he wants to beat his opponents in decisive fashion.
Check out Sean O'Malley's appearance on the Full Send Podcast below:
Chael Sonnen compares Sean O'Malley to Brock Lesnar and Conor McGregor
Sean O'Malley racked up another impressive win at UFC 269, defeating Raulian Paiva by TKO in the first round.
In a clip posted to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen compared 'Sugar's meteoric rise to stardom to Brock Lesnar and Conor McGregor:
"He got that big bright spotlight on him in absolute record time. Lesnar, Conor McGregor, Sean O'Malley. You got a problem with that order that I just said? Can you tell me anyone else that became stars faster than that? Lesnar, but for obvious reasons, Conor spent some time on the undercard, two times. But then his third time he was a main event. Record time. And you got Sean O'Malley, who's in front of everybody at all times," said Sonnen.
Check out Chael Sonnen's thoughts on Sean O'Malley below:
Now that he's a ranked contender, O'Malley's next opponent will likely be his stiffest test yet.