"I'll put him face first" - Sean O'Malley looking for a finish against "top P4P" fighter Petr Yan
Sean O'Malley isn't willing to go the distance with Petr Yan and insists that he will aim for a finish against the Russian at UFC 280.
In an interview with Full Send MMA, the American previewed his fight with the No.1-ranked bantamweight, while claiming that he would knock Yan out.
"Every time I get into a fight, the goal is put him face first, knock him out. I want to get the finish, that's always the goal. Petr is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world in my opinion. The dude's legitimate, real deal, No.1 contender. I'm going to go out there and do what I need to do to get the job done. But, ideally I'm putting him face first."
Watch Sean O'Malley on Full Send MMA below:
Yan lost the bantamweight title to current champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273, but a win over O'Malley could lead to a trilogy fight between the pair. O'Malley won his last three fights inside the octagon before an unfortunate eye-poke led to a no-contest against Pedro Munhoz in his last fight back in July.
Sean O’Malley thinks his striking will be too elite for Petr Yan. 👊
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This is 'Sugar's toughest yet, but the rising bantamweight has grown from strength to strength since making his UFC debut back in 2017. The two will go head-to-head at UFC 280 on October 2022 in Abu Dhabi in what is a highly-anticipated clash between the two bantamweights on opposite ends of the rankings.
Anthony Smith believes Sean O'Malley needs to improve one aspect of his game ahead of UFC 280 clash
Anthony Smith gave his take on the fight, insisting that O'Malley would be a tough matchup for Yan if he showed more aggression inside the octagon. In an interview with James Lynch, Smith previewed the blockbuster fight, saying:
"Sean O'Malley doesn't like to go first. The only time you really see him attacking people and really going first is when he's already hurt people countering or he's got someone shying away from him who's already afraid of him a little bit. Once Sean O'Malley starts walking people down, there's not a lot of people in the world that are going to beat him, because that's just where he's best at."
Watch Anthony Smith weigh in on Yan vs. O'Malley below:
Yan is definitely a far more experienced fighter with bonafide championship pedigree, so O'Malley will have to be at his absolute best over the three rounds if he is to emerge victorious. A win over 'No Mercy' could vault 'Sugar' into a championship fight.