Sean O'Malley discusses being the UFC 252 co-main event, his new training camp, and more (Exclusive)
This weekend's UFC 252 will be the final time we witness Daniel Cormier compete in the Octagon. However, with one illustrious career set to come to a close, another could be in the making in the form of Sean O'Malley.
'Sugar' Sean O'Malley will be competing in his first-ever UFC co-main event and for his upcoming fight, the Bantamweight sensation will be sharing the Octagon with the dangerous Marlon Vera. While things definitely won't be easy for 'Sugar', there is a lot of hype around O'Malley and he will definitely try and live up to it.
In the build-up to the fight, I had the pleasure of speaking to Sean O'Malley as part of the UFC 252 Virtual Media Day and asked what his training camp for this fight has been like, the frequency of his UFC fights, and being in the co-main event of UFC 252.
You can check out Sean O'Malley's interview below:
Sean O'Malley on what his training camp has been like amid the pandemic
With Sean O'Malley getting his own cage in the lead-up to this fight, he feels that his training has improved a lot and with the changes caused due to the ongoing pandemic, his camp has been more like a Boxing training camp.
"I'd say it improved a lot of things, it made it more like a Boxing training camp where it was all individualized for specifically me, for specifically August 15th. So you know, if anything, it's been the best camp I've ever had."
Sean O'Malley on the small yet significant changes to his training camp
O'Malley claimed that there have been a few small yet significant changes to his training camp, with one of them being the grappling aspect of the fight.
"Instead of grappling at a Jiu-Jitsu gym or you know, hit mitts on the mats, we've done all of our training in the cage. I got a cage, we put it in a warehouse and we've done all our sessions in there, and it's the same size as the Apex cage. So I think that was very beneficial."
Sean O'Malley on the frequency of his quick turnarounds in the UFC
Sean O'Malley has been highly active in the UFC ever since he made his return to the fight game. 'Sugar' fought at UFC 248, then at UFC 250, and now is set for a fight at UFC 252. And if everything goes his way this weekend, Sean O'Malley will be looking forward to another quick return.
"Completely depends, gotta go out there and do what I do. Saturday night, you know, first round knockout, no injuries, yeah there's a potential quick turnaround but we'll see. There's just so much that can happen during a fight that it's hard to predict what's next. It's Wednesday, you know I got a couple days until it's Saturday. I'm laser focused Saturday for Chito."
Sean O'Malley on being the co-main event of a historic card like UFC 252
'Sugar' Sean O'Malley believes that his fight is the perfect co-main event for a legendary card like the UFC 252.
"I think it's the perfect co-main event for a legendary card. Stipe-DC is the biggest trilogy fight ever at Heavyweight. The baddest men in the world, so to fight right before them, it's insane. It's gonna be something to look back on and it's gonna be an awesome memory."
When is UFC 252?
UFC 252 will be taking place on the 15th of August and will feature a huge Heavyweight Title bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier as the main event. The co-main event, however, will feature 'The Sugar Show', as Sean O'Malley gets set for a huge clash against Marlon Vera.