Kamaru Usman is a fan of newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley.
O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) upset champ Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) when he finished him by second-round TKO in this past Saturday’s UFC 292 headliner at TD Garden in Boston.
Usman, a former UFC welterweight champion, explains that the reason O’Malley has gained so much popularity over the years is that the youth can relate to him.
“Sean O’Malley’s one of those kids that I really love,” Usman said on ESPN’s “DC & RC.” “I like seeing him. I like watching him. Not just that, I like the way that he carries himself. We’re kind of in a society to where it’s fame is supposed to come before success. That’s what we were pushing on. But it’s very rare for that success to actually come.
“Sean, yes of course, he announced the fame, and I think the reason he announced that fame is because it just feels real and authentic. This is a kid who shows you what he does. He loves to stay at home, he loves to train, he loves to smoke, and he has fun. He loves to smoke. He loves to play video games. That just happens to be a majority of where society is nowadays. He’s doing it raw, he’s doing it authentically, and it resonates through.”
O’Malley’s rise to stardom and finish of Sterling has drawn comparison’s to former UFC dual champion Conor McGregor. According to UFC president Dana White, O’Malley’s fight vs. Sterling was the biggest bantamweight title bout in company history.
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