Daniel Cormier thinks Sean O’Malley should be next for UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) jumped to the No. 1 spot in the bantamweight rankings when he edged out former champion Petr Yan this past Saturday at UFC 280. One fight later, Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) dominated T.J. Dillashaw to retain his title by second-round TKO.
At the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White floated the idea of returning former dual-champ Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) being next for Sterling. But Cormier thinks O’Malley has earned the title shot.
“I would consider making Sterling’s next fight Sean O’Malley right now,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Right now, I would think, let’s do Sean O’Malley. Yesterday on DC & RC, I said it’s going to be Henry Cejudo, and I believe that because Sean O’Malley’s going to need some time to recover because that was a war against Petr Yan.
“I still would think about maybe making this guy next because regardless of what you feel and how you feel the fight was judged, at the end of the day, Sean O’Malley got his hand raised. For the sport, Henry Cejudo, as the guy that left as a double champion, should be next. But it’s more than likely to be Sean O’Malley.”
Cormier explained that O’Malley should be the No. 1 contender because he’s a bigger draw than Cejudo, making him a more lucrative fight for Sterling.
“Sean O’Malley will be the bigger fight for the champion,” Cormier said. “It’s that simple. It is what it is because the reality is, part of the retirement for Cejudo was, dude’s competing for a long time at the highest level, but the reality is he wanted more money and that didn’t happen. Why? Because he hasn’t moved the needle as much as he hoped for, or he thought he did.”
DC with another take that sucks.
Hes A Corporate Dude now. Nada Fighter or A Ref
Good call.
Company man spewing the usual bullshit.
If I’m Aljo, I’m thanking god if they want O’Malley next. First off, Hed much rather fight him now than in a year or two. Second, while Sean might be underrated on the ground, Hes about the worst possible of a nightmare match up. Which many thought Yan would be but Aljo is a book sack. I really believe he does what Yan should’ve done and back pack him into submission. Or It’s one of those fights where Sean goes out and starches him in spectacular fashion where he goes up a level right before our eyes. But if Aljo fights smart and stays heavy, I think he takes it.
Why bullshit? It’s absolutely correct. You think a guy who has been out a few years jumping back who most people don’t know in is a bigger draw than O’Malley- current draw with hype behind him?
Goat chocolate bar
I don’t know how much hype he has.
Something is there yes, but a lot of people weren’t happy about his last win. Not quite the same as a Conor level love/hate thing going on.
And while O’Malley has more current hype than C4, they can easily throw some weight behind Henry and get interest in that.
On the fighter side, I would argue that Henry is a far bigger fight than O’Malley for Aljo.
Aljo hasn’t had a single big clean win in this title reign, not generally his fault but a fact nonetheless. Defeating Henry, a former double champ and the guy that never lost the belt Aljo holds has far more weight than fighting the latest hype machine who has had some questionable fights himself.
O’Malley might get some more sales but with proper promotion on Henry I don’t think the gap is that massive (neither are selling a million PPVs). I’d rather have a win over Henry if I were Aljo. It would make 3 former champs on his resume and a chance for his first unquestionable victory against the best of those champs.
I have a picture of myself eating Oh Henry bars with Tim Sylvia. You would be so jealous of the stories I have. I am a huge deal in the sport. This one time I was standing outside a Rings USA event waiting for them to unlock the doors and Bobby Hoffman walked by. He looked at me with the respect I was due. This has absolutely nothing to do with the thread but I don’t care.
If Bobby Hoffman looked at you with respect then yeah you must have definitely deserved it. I remember thinking he was gonna kill Mo Smith when they fought. Not exactly how it went down, but still a dangerous dangerous man.
Yes but revenue wise, he’s right.
Cejudo would wipe the floor with O’Malley but who cares?
Sterling would wrestle fuck O’Malley
The UFC or Dana doesn’t want that fight because it’s a good matchup for Sterling. It’s why Dana said he thinks Henry should get the next shot after the fight.
