Sean O’Malley is not particularly fond of Conor McGregor today. But he knows the former two-division UFC champion is the consensus icon in the sport’s history. It all boils down to laying a ‘Notorious’ like roadmap that leads him to dual championship and glory in days to come. O’Malley faces 135-pound title contender Merab Dvalishvili next at the Noche UFC (UFC 306) pay-per-view headliner.
In an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, Sean O’Malley was asked how close he is to becoming the brand face of the banner. After knocking out Merab Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling to win the title at UFC 292 PPV last August, he has had a maiden defense. ‘Suga’ considers it hard to gauge with a pay-per-view model full of backend illegal streaming. However, when it comes to the matches ahead, he has trailed it well already.
Right now it’s Conor McGregor, 100 percent, …He’s a dork, but it’s the truth. For me to get to that, I need to go out there and knock out Merab, I go up to [145], I beat Ilia, I beat Max, I beat Umar… I’m three fights away from being one of the greatest of all-time, one of the most exciting of all-time.
Sean O’Malley to ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto (@ESPNMMA)
In a lopsided decision win over longtime rival Marlon Vera, O’Malley successfully defended his title with a violent output. That 25-minute outing opened a lot of eyes to the perhaps underrated ceiling the MMA community placed on him. Throughout the growth in popularity through his neo-fandom, the Team MMA Lab champ is very near to that ‘Notorious’ level of fame already. Defending the 135-pound gold, ‘Suga’ also recently won the 2024 ESPY for Best UFC Fighter Award.
However, he has no plans of stopping just there, or even at ‘Mac’ levels. O’Malley also addressed Conor McGregor as he continues to prep against the No. 1 contender in the main event of UFC 306. While being the UFC’s biggest star is one achievement — however profitable or big of a draw, O’Malley wants more: The combination of superstardom and legacy. To that end, he does not consider McGregor as part of the equation.
Sean O’Malley snubs Conor McGregor from G.O.A.T. conversation
Sean O’Malley once looked to the flamboyant ‘Notorious’ as a blueprint to success in UFC competition. McGregor, one of nine UFC two-division champions, was the only ever consecutive titleholder. His shock wins over Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez propelled him from underdog to the top bill in prime fashion. He proved he could be a top pay-per-view buyout many times. He even started it all by taking up crossover boxing against Floyd Mayweather.
Sean O’Malley wants to be better than ‘dork’ Conor McGregor (Source: es.agfight.com/irishmirror.ie)Following his blueprint, ‘Suga’ wants a foray into crossover pro-sanction boxing as well. He also keeps lofty plans to supersede the ‘rich’ and ‘famous’ status as best he can. But the 29-year-old has ended his camaraderie with McGregor. While ‘Suga’ wants to be G.O.A.T. himself as well, he thinks there’s a difference between that and the “McGregor” conversation.
No one thinks Conor’s the greatest fighter of all-time. He was lacking skills, lacked title defenses, but entertainment wise, he’s the best in the world. Entertainment-wise, he was the best…Greatest fighter of all-time, Jon Jones, Khabib, Islam, [all] up there. I want to be both. I want to be one of the greatest of all-times, and one of the most entertaining of all-times. That’s my goal.
Sean O’Malley in pre-fight interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto (@ESPNMMA)
While the Team SBG Ireland standout remains an icon, he had to relinquish his title after 511 inactive days. McGregor is out on a leg break since 2021 and even recently pulled out of the UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner. While the Dubliner maintains his status as a superstar and buyout king, he does not boast much in the way of actual stats and ranks. As he goes on to meet Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, O’Malley wants to be a better template.
