"You don't want to fight any ranked guys, so here I am" - Brian Kelleher calls out Sean O'Malley after win at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum
UFC bantamweight Brian Kelleher called out 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley after his dominant victory against Domingo Pilarte at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Gastelum.
The 35-year old secured his first victory of 2021, having lost to Ricky Simon at UFC 258.
'Boom' controlled his opponent on the ground and his wrestling skills proved too much for Pilarte. He also landed some precise ground and pound strikes. The fight concluded with Brian Kelleher coming out on top via a unanimous decision.
In his post-fight interview, Kelleher again called out the up-and-coming bantamweight prospect, Sean O'Malley.
"O'Malley, stop it with the 6ix9ine tattoos. What kind of guys you hangin' out with? You should have got a tattoo of a vagina. You know you don't want to fight any ranked guys, so here I am. Business is booming."
Brian Kelleher also tweeted that Ricky Simon, who dominated Kelleher in a very similar way to what he did against Pilarte, gave him props.
"Simon says 'I Ricky Simone’d his a**'"
Brian Kelleher celebrated his one-sided victory in fashion as he impersonated WWE superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin's finishing move.
Brian Kelleher also spoke about the smooth weight cut that lead to his dominating performance. In a post-fight interview with ESPN, Kelleher said:
"Yeah that was another thing, I felt strong, refueling felt good. The [weight] cut wasn't the easiest but it wasn't the worst, it came off decently smooth and this is my weight class so I was happy to be back here, make the weight and get it done..."
Watch the interview below:
Brian Kelleher's wrestling may pose a real threat to Sean O'Malley
O'Malley, who has been touted as a future bantamweight champion, has shown very few vulnerabilities in his career. But one of them has been elite wrestling and grappling, and that's why a skilled wrestler like Brian Kelleher could cause 'Sugar' problems .
In his fight against Marlon 'Chito' Vera, O'Malley succumbed to the pressure of Vera before getting finished on the ground with strikes.
However, O'Malley has often displayed elite takedown defense and high-level grappling skills.. His fight against Andre Soukhamthath is an example where the Glendale native managed to survive on the ground even with a broken leg.