5 reasons why Sean O'Malley might beat Petr Yan (and 5 reasons why he might not)
The bout scheduled between Sean O'Malley and Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 was done so with the goal of determining how high O'Malley's ceiling is as a fighter. Unfortunately, like every matchup Sean O'Malley has had against any mixed martial artist currently ranked in the top 10 of his division, the bout with Munhoz ended in controversy.
An unintentional eye poke left the Brazilian unable to continue and the fight was declared a no contest. 'Sugar' celebrated the outcome as though it were a win, though his antics didn't endear him to anyone but his loyal fanbase. Just as neutral fight fans questioned the rationale behind O'Malley's reaction to his past loss to Marlon 'Chito' Vera, they questioned the logic behind his claim that the no contest against Pedro Munhoz was a victory.
While many expected the result to perhaps lead to a rematch or a fight with a another similarly-ranked opponent, Sean O'Malley has instead been booked for a UFC 280 bout with Petr Yan, the No.1-ranked bantamweight in the UFC.
Not long after the fight's announcement, O'Malley's chances against Yan were dismissed by most fight fans. This list details five reasons why those fans might be proved wrong, and five reasons why they could be proved right.
#10. Can win: Sean O'Malley's low kicks
Sean O'Malley is one of the most varied kickers in the UFC. The effectiveness of his kicks is magnified by the fact that the current striking meta in MMA is boxing, with fighters en masse sharpening their boxing skillsets. Specifically, fighters have become better jabbers, extending their stances as they step in with the shot.
Sean O’Malley was chewing up Chito Vera the entire first round with nasty kicks and then catches one kick to his nerve and it was all over
https://t.co/6OGxMAGbiT
While Petr Yan isn't going to use his jab to try and keep the taller and longer O'Malley at range, he does fight from a traditional boxing stance with much of his weight loaded on his overexposed lead leg. This renders Petr Yan exceptionally vulnerable to low kicks as he neithers checks nor attempts to catch them in pursuit of takedowns.
Instead, his defense against low kicks is to switch stances, which does not bode well against O'Malley, who is also a frequent stance-switcher and a hard low kicker who routinely uses low kicks to attack foes at range.
While that is not always the case, the better a boxer the fighter is, the more exposed they are to low kicks. This is the case with Petr Yan.
#9. Can't win: Petr Yan's cardio
Despite his breadth of striking talent, Sean O'Malley is not without his weaknesses. Due to the amount of knockout power he pours into his punches and kicks, 'Sugar' typically exhausts himself in pursuit of a TKO or KO victory.
Often-times, this manifests as Sean O'Malley slowing down at some point in the second round.
Elite skills on show for five rounds!
Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen put on an incredible fight at #UFC267 🔥
No Mercy triumphs again! https://t.co/r4FmgL11HH
Sadly, gassing out against the likes of Petr Yan is very troubling as not only does the Russian not tire, he also improves as the fight progresses, increasing his volume of strikes while growing more aggressive.
If O'Malley tires while Yan improves and ups his pace, it could lead to a troublesome outcome for 'Sugar' if he cannot earn a stoppage victory.