"He's smarter than he looks" - Paddy Pimblett gives props to Sean O'Malley for avoiding ranked opponents

Paddy Pimblett believes that Sean O’Malley is right to avoid fighting ranked UFC opponents until he gets paid enough to fight them. In an appearance on the Unlocking The Cage with Jimmy Smith podcast, ‘The Baddy’ asserted that O’Malley is 'smarter than he looks'.

Pimblett suggested that he too would like to fight a few unranked opponents in the UFC before moving on to tougher, ranked opponents. The Baddy indicated that he would like to get paid more to fight ranked opponents.

Smith pointed out the similarities between Paddy Pimblett and Sean O’Malley’s views on the matter, in response to which, Pimblett gave props to ‘Suga’.

“Yeah, well, he’s quite smart, isn’t he? To be honest," Pimblett stated. “Smarter than he looks.”

Jimmy Smith proceeded to note that in the past, fighters generally chose to pursue higher-ranked opponents and the title while hoping that they would eventually start earning more money. Smith added that new fighters coming into the UFC like Paddy Pimblett and Sean O’Malley prioritize money and positioning first, rather than facing high-ranking opponents.

Smith asked for Paddy Pimblett’s views in this regard. Pimblett replied by saying:

“No, lad. It’s just people who are very self-confident. He’s very self-confident. I’m very self-confident.”

Paddy Pimblett and Sean O’Malley are regarded as future superstars

Paddy Pimblett (left); Luigi Vendramini (right)

Many in the MMA community have touted Paddy Pimblett and Sean O’Malley as superstars in the making. Both fighters are fan-favorites but they are yet to break through into the upper echelons of their respective divisions.

While Paddy Pimblett debuted in the UFC earlier this month, Sean O’Malley has been with the UFC since 2017. A major criticism against O’Malley is that he hasn’t been fighting opponents who are ranked in the top-10 or top-15 of the UFC bantamweight division.

O’Malley, on his part, has consistently maintained that he’s confident in his ability to defeat any opponent regardless of their ranking. Suga has emphasized, however, that he doesn’t see the point of fighting ranked opponents if he isn’t getting paid enough to fight such tough opponents.

O’Malley has admitted that he’d rather fight unranked fighters in the UFC until he starts getting financial incentives to fight ranked opponents.

Sean O’Malley’s most recent fight was a third-round TKO win against Kris Moutinho in a bantamweight bout at UFC 264 on July 10th, 2021. Meanwhile, Paddy Pimblett’s last fight was his UFC debut, a first-round KO win over Luigi Vendramini at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till on September 4th, 2021.