5 logical opponents for Sean O'Malley after UFC 269 win

Sean O’Malley is one of the most popular and exciting fighters on the UFC roster. His unorthodox style, all-action approach and impenetrable confidence has made him a huge star since breaking onto the scene on Dana White's Contender Series four years ago.

O’Malley fought three times in 2020 and just as many times in 2021. If he maintains the same level of activity next year, the popular bantamweight could potentially be fighting for a title in the near future.

Sean O’Malley, who was unranked in the bantamweight division until UFC 269, has been slow-playing his career so far. The American has stated on numerous occasions that he is happy to fight unranked opponents considering how much he's earning per fight, and that he will take on higher-caliber opponents if he’s paid more.

Since his return from suspension in March 2020, he has gone 5-1 at 135 lbs. Following his most recent win over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, O’Malley finally broke into the rankings. His impressive performance against Paiva prompted UFC president Dana White to say this at the post-fight press conference:

“When you talk to him [Sean O'Malley] – two things, he wants to get paid, and he wants to fight higher-level competition. It looks like we’re going to have to pay him.”

That being said, we thought we’d look at five logical opponents for Sean O’ Malley’s next octagon outing.

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#5. Sean O'Malley vs. Adrian Yanez

Adrian Yanez, like Sean O’Malley used to be, is an unranked bantamweight on the rise.

Yanez burst onto the scene with a successful outing in season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series. The Texas-born bantamweight made a resounding statement with a 39-second TKO victory over Brady Huang and subsequently earned a contract with the UFC for his near-perfect performance.

His first three fights in the UFC earned him three ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses. KO/TKO victories over Victor Rodriguez, Gustavo Lopez and Randy Costa saw him earn a reputation for being a tough fighter with crisp striking.

The stylistic matchup between Adrian Yanez and Sean O’Malley will certainly produce fireworks. Both fighters are powerful and accurate strikers. Yanez typically likes to push the pace and walk his opponent down, while O’Malley’s ability to inflict damage while going backwards is among the best in the UFC.

The duo went back and forth on social media before O’Malley’s fight against Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. O’Malley had called out Yanez on numerous occasions, most recently on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. He said:

“Yeah, I would think. I mean, I called him out and he just; he stuttered. He didn’t really know what to say. He was kind of talking sh*t while saying I had really cool knockouts.”

Yanez replied to O’Malley in a tweet that read:

“@SugaSeanMMA get past this 25er [Raulian Paiva] then talk.”

Sean O’Malley made light work of Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, knocking the Brazilian out in the very first round. With just two more fights remaining on his current contract with the UFC, he will be looking to add to his highlight reel before taking on high-level contenders in the division.

#4. Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Moraes

An ideal opponent for Sean O’Malley as looks to climb the UFC bantamweight rankings would be No.9-ranked Marlon Moraes. O’Malley will most likely have to take on another striker as he looks to ascend the pecking order at 135 lbs.

The UFC matchmakers have been strategically pitting Sean O’Malley against favorable stylistic matchups since taking notice of his star power. O’Malley’s striking acumen has drawn praise from some of the best strikers in the sport, including Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya.

Marlon Moraes is a stand-up fighter who rarely shoots for takedowns. He’s even knocked out the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling.

Moraes’ style of fighting makes him the perfect adversary for Sean O’Malley as the latter looks to crack the top 10 at 135 lbs. Additionally, the Brazilian has endured a torrid run of late and is coming off consecutive KO/TKO losses to Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font and Merab Dvalishvili.

From a marketability standpoint, a knockout victory over a former title contender sets up Sean O’Malley for another huge fight in the bantamweight division. A win over an experienced and well-known fighter like Marlon Moraes could see his popularity rise even further.

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#3. Sean O'Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz

Pedro Munhoz, another striker, is a sensible matchup for Sean O’Malley in the same way that Marlon Moraes is. However, there’s another reason why a potential fight between Munhoz and O’Malley could benefit the latter in changing a certain narrative that continues to haunt him.

There’s a growing theme about the effect of calf kicks every time Sean O’Malley fights. The calf kick has taken over the sport unlike any other singular technique we’ve ever seen, with almost all fighters actively learning how to throw and defend the devastating technique.

In Sean O’Malley’s loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252, Vera landed a calf kick that hit the infamous peroneal nerve in O'Malley's calf.

Direct impact on the nerve tends to cause a medical condition known as ‘drop-foot’, which prevents an athlete from putting weight on the leg that got hit. It has happened only a handful of times in the history of MMA.

O’Malley’s right leg gave out against Vera in the first round, allowing the Ecuadorian to finish the fight against an effectively one-legged opponent.

Sean O’Malley has been vocal about his irritation towards the UFC commentary team regarding the constant chatter surrounding his ability to defend calf kicks. In a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow, O’Malley said:

"They said, 'I don't know why, when you're going to fight Sean, you don't throw more leg kicks. He clearly had a problem in the Chito [Marlon vera] fight with the leg kicks.' I fight Thomas Almeida, who's a f***ing good kickboxer, who tried kicking my legs... I countered, he landed a couple, I did a couple good things with the leg kicks. Kris Moutinho, who probably kicked my legs more than Thomas, still kicked my legs."

"You can just say anything on the mic. Everyone knows how much I f***ing love Joe Rogan. I say it after my fights... He might have watched that Chito fight one time while he was sitting there and then his opinion is what he saw right there. But dude, he got one kick that hit my [peroneal] nerve... He did land a couple of good leg kicks after that, but I was on one leg and I still pieced him up. If you're gonna comentate and bring up that fight, every single time I fight, go watch it and form a knowledgeable opinion about it."

Watch Sean O'Malley discuss the apparent theme surrounding his susceptibility to calf kicks below:

Pedro Munhoz is notoriously one of the best at calf kicks in the UFC. His fight against Jimmie Rivera is a classic example of just how crippling the kick is. If he was to take on Sean O’Malley, the calf kick would undoubtedly be his best weapon.

Meanwhile, O’Malley might want to make a statement, terminate the narrative and silence the critics who harp on about his apparent susceptibility to the technique. Additionally, Munhoz is ranked No.10 in the bantamweight division and is an ideal matchup for Sean O’Malley as he looks to climb the ladder at 135 lbs.

#2. Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera

Sean O’Malley is confident that he will cross paths with Marlon Vera again. Vera remains the only fighter to have a win over O’Malley, albeit the legitimacy of his victory is debatable.

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, O’Malley was asked about potentially running it back with ‘Chito’ in the future, to which he replied:

“It’s satisfying knowing that he [Marlon Vera] knows that [the first fight’s result was illegitimate]. Will we have a rematch someday? I say ‘yes’. I think a hundred per cent we’re going to have a rematch someday. I just feel like he needs to earn it.”

Watch Sean O’Malley give his take on a potential rematch with Marlon Vera below:

Sean O’Malley took on Marlon Vera in the co-main event of UFC 252 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. As discussed earlier, Vera landed a leg kick in the first round that hit the peroneal nerve in O’Malley’s calf that caused the ‘drop-foot’ phenomenon - something we’ve seen only a handful of times in the octagon. Vera subsequently finished O’Malley after the latter effectively became a one-legged fighter.

While Vera’s strike clearly caused the injury and he deserves all the credit, the question regarding which fighter is more skilled is still up for debate. O’Malley was significantly faster than Vera in the striking exchanges before the injury, and there’s only one way to find out which of the two is better at their craft.

Moreover, because of the contentious nature of the result of their first bout, there is real animosity between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. In an interview with TMZ Sports, Vera had this to say:

“The guy is a cry baby. He’s a little b*tch, you know? [If] you’re a b*tch once, you’re a b*tch forever, you know? So I don’t care about the guy. He can talk whatever he wants.”

“Let’s be real. There is not big money in the rematch because first thing, he’s not Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz are money [fights]. Sean O’Malley is just like a lower version of Conor McGregor, [he’s] like the China version of him. Made in China. He’s fake.”

Watch Marlon Vera’s full interview with TMZ Sports below:

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#1. Sean O'Malley vs. Cody Garbrandt

The rivalry and war of words between Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt has been brewing for quite some time now. Interestingly, their respective careers have gone in completely opposite directions since the feud started.

Sean O’Malley is on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport. After finally breaking into the rankings following his win over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, O’Malley is set to have a huge couple of years ahead of him. At just 27, he is yet to hit his prime and has barely taken any damage.

Cody Garbrandt, on the other hand, has gone from being the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion in 2016 to an unranked fighter in 2021. His most recent attempt at salvaging his career backfired severely as his move down to the flyweight division ended in a first round KO at the hands of Kai Kara-France.

Garbrandt has attacked O’Malley’s approach to his career, while the latter has always stated that he doesn’t have anything personal against the former champion. He just believes that, stylistically, it would be an entertaining matchup for the fans.

During an interview with Michael Bisping, O’Malley stated that he held no personal animosity towards Garbrandt. He said:

"It's not personal... I've never actually had a conversation with him, but for me, it's not personal. I think it's a fight the fans would love to see and it's someone who gets emotional. I've brought up his name a bunch… It could be a mega-fight someday but I definitely want to keep that beef there a little bit, you know. It's a big fight. It's a massive fight."

Cody Garbrandt is in dire need of something significant to fight for. His rivalry with Sean O’Malley remains the only big fight available to him.

From O’Malley’s perspective, a win over a former champion who is also a high-profile name could shoot him into superstardom. Additionally, O’Malley is in no rush to climb the bantamweight rankings and will have no problem taking on Garbrandt in a grudge match.

As for the stylistic matchup? Someone’s getting knocked out, guaranteed.