“And he compares himself with Conor” - Sean O'Malley mocked after revealing 145 lbs. division aspiration post-Volkanovski era

Sean O'Malley clinched the bantamweight championship last month by defeating Aljamain Sterling with a second-round stoppage in the main event of UFC 292.

'Sugar' is currently filled with self-assurance as he looks ahead to a move up to the featherweight division in the future. However, he views UFC 145-pound kingpin Alexander Volkanovski as an obstacle in his potential journey.

During an appearance on ThatWasEpic's YouTube channel, the 135-pound champion stated:

"I would love to [go up 145 lbs], when Alexander Volkanovski is not the champ."

Fans wasted no time in ridiculing Sean O'Malley for his remarks.

One fan wrote:

"The exact opposite mentality of @funkmasterMMA"

Another said:

"No one at 135/145 can beat Volk rn imo."

Check out some more reactions below:

"and he compares himself with Conor too 🤦🏻‍♂"

"There is zero probability of Sean beating Volk but yeah there would be nothing to lose"

"He said that he would KO him but he wants to wait that he leaves to go up... 🤷😂"

"His mindset alone justifies why he cant beat Volk."

"Good luck waiting for Volk to not be champ lol"

"He needs to defend some titles first"

Credits: @espnmma on X

Alexander Volkanovski is widely regarded as one of the most dominant UFC champions of recent years, having participated in more than seven title bouts within his 14-fight UFC career.

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Sean O'Malley discusses his exchange with Dana White about his upcoming fight

Sean O'Malley recently revealed that UFC CEO Dana White would provide information regarding his first championship defense in the coming weeks.

When asked about competing at UFC 296 in December during an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, 'Sugar' responded:

"We'll see. The sooner the better for me. There's nothing official right now, I did talk to Dana [White], he said he's gonna announce something massive in a few weeks. I know there's a couple of options of who that might be. But he didn't specifically tell me, 'cause there's still moving pieces. But he did say he was going to announce something massive in a few weeks."

Check out O’Malley's comments below (from 13:50):