The bantamweight champion found himself unexpectedly caught in Conor McGregor‘s crosshairs. This was during a recent online rant from the former two-division king. McGregor’s tirade was against boxer Ryan Garcia, but Sean O’Malley caught some flak as well. He now responded to these comments.
It was an “idol turned rival” moment that left Sean O’Malley both stunned and amused. The Irishman had threatened to “bust up” both Garcia and O’Malley. This threat stemmed from Garcia’s failed drug test for Ostarine. O’Malley had previously tested positive for the same banned substance. This is what O’Malley replied to McGregor’s comments:
Now I cannot wait to see Michael Chandler absolutely just sleep him. I’m turning up. I’m changing up real quick, f*ck Conor.
Sean O’Malley via The TimboSugarShow
O’Malley seemed to take the insults over his past anti-doping issues with a grain of salt. The 29-year-old has been publicly complimentary of Conor McGregor for years as one of his fighting inspirations. However, O’Malley did reveal that he was rooting for McGregor’s opposing corner at UFC 303. O’Malley openly hoped that Michael Chandler would put the former champ-champ’s lights out in their June 29th clash.
Sean O’Malley responds to Conor McGregor going off on him 😂
“Oh yea, f*** Conor. I’ve seen a lot of people being like ‘damn, I bet Suga’s sad’… I was more sad than mad…
Now I cannot wait to see Michael Chandler absolutely just sleep him. I’m turning up, I’m changing up real… pic.twitter.com/OWD2o6ivYW
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 6, 2024
O’Malley is coming off a dominant win over Marlon Vera. He even agreed to spar with McGregor after his comments. The onetime McGregor superfan is reveling in this abrupt changing of the tides. It’s a transformation many fighters inevitably experience when they reach a certain level in the sport.
Sean O’Malley comes to the aid of rival Ryan Garcia after failed drug test
Boxing star, Ryan Garcia recently tested positive for a banned substance after his big win over Devin Haney. One very unlikely voice came to his defense; his rival and UFC bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley.
Sean O’Malley comes to Ryan Garcia’s defense (via Sports Illustrated)O’Malley recently talked about this on an episode of his TimboSugarShow podcast. “Suga” drew clear parallels between Garcia’s Ostarine positive and his own issues with the same prohibited drug years ago.
Was it just the Ostarine he tested for? Or was it multiple things? Dude the reason he is getting so much attention, is because it’s just a big fight and he is so popular. I got a bunch of attention for it when it happened to me. It happens to so many athletes, but it’s guys no one knows about or no one cares about. But the reason this is circulating is because this is Ryan Garcia. That s*it f**king happens dude.
Sean O’Malley via The TimboSugarShow
The 29-year-old MMA star would know better than most what Garcia is going through. O’Malley himself was suspended twice after testing positive for Ostarine back in 2018 and 2019. Later investigations concluded that it was from a contaminated supplement. O’Malley insisted that unintentional positives from tainted products are more common than fight fans realize.
