Casey O'Neill feels her decision to sign with Paradigm Sports was driven by more reasons than just getting good fights in the UFC. The No.15-ranked women's flyweight contender signed with the management company back in August last year. She is looking to build a name for herself outside the world of combat sports as well.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch, the Scottish-Australian fighter explained that she wants to build a brand for herself and get involved in various businesses down the line. She believes Paradigm Sports could help her reach those goals. She cited the examples of Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya, who are also managed by the company:
"I just sort of figured that I needed something that was going to be a little bit more on the other side of things rather than just getting me fights. I want to start building my brand and building maybe some businesses under my name...I feel like paradigm's the perfect place to do it. Obviously they've done it with a lot of people, Israel and Conor have made strides since signing with Paradigm so I'm just looking to further my brand make my name a little bit bigger."
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Check out Casey O'Neill's interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya are two of the most popular fighters in the UFC. The Irishman has tried his hand at various businesses over the years, with his Proper No.12 Irish Whisky being his most successful venture yet. McGregor recently sold a majority stake in the company to Proximo Spirits for approximately $600 million.
Casey O'Neill is an undefeated fighter [8-0] with three straight wins inside the octagon. All three of those wins came by way of stoppages. In her last fight back in October 2021, O'Neill picked up a big TKO win over Antonina Shevchenko.
She is currently scheduled to take on flyweight veteran Roxanne Modafferi at the upcoming UFC 271 pay-per-view on February 12.
Casey O'Neill on teammate Francis Ngannou - "The guy means no harm for anyone"
Casey O'Neill said she's inspired by teammate Francis Ngannou's incredible work ethic and humility. She said that despite being a UFC heavyweight champion at the top of his game, 'The Predator' still works harder in the gym than the hungriest guys out there.
She was also impressed by how Ngannou fought through a serious knee injury to overcome Ciryl Gane's daunting challenge at UFC 270:
"I love Francis, he's a really big teddy bear. When you get to know him you know the guy means no harm for anyone and you just see him in the gym every day, working so hard and someone at the top level who still works that hard is really inspiring to see. He went through that knee injury and it never stopped him."