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Sean O'Malley seems to have lost the respect of a lot of fans and fighters for how he handled his defeat to Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 252 in the co-main event. Before UFC 252, Sean O'Malley was one of the hottest prospects in the UFC, gaining a large fan-following with his impressive knockouts and his strong social media game.
While an undefeated prospect losing is normal in MMA, Sean O'Malley rubbed fans the wrong way with his post-fight comments, where he refused to give credit to Marlon Vera and blamed it on his foot injury. Sean O'Malley stated that in a few years, he's going to be a World Champion while Marlon Vera will be a "journeymen".
Darren Till was one among many to criticize O'Malley for what he said. Ben Askren recently underwent surgery to fix long-standing hip issues and a few hours post-operation, he took a video taking a shot at Sean O'Malley, saying:
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“See, Sean O’Malley’s faking an ankle injury,” Asken said as he inched down a hospital corridor on a walker, held up by a nurse. “Needed a f**king stretcher. I’m like four hours post-op from my hip, and Lisa’s got me walking already. Sean, toughen up a little bit, son!”
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Ben Askren recently said that Sean O'Malley needed to grow up, while the young prospect responded to him by saying "I didn't know you were stupid".
Sean O'Malley and the "undefeated mentality"
When asked about his loss to Marlon Vera, Sean O'Malley said that mentally, he's still undefeated. Hopefully, Sean O'Malley improves his approach in his next fight. Unlike boxing, one defeat doesn't impact the perception of a fighter as much. When looking at all the great UFC Champions, it's rare to see anyone who was undefeated when winning the title.
The reality is that it's simply harder to stay undefeated in MMA. However, a healthy mentality is what takes fighters forward. For all the criticism he received, Ben Askren handled his defeats well.
