ABU DHABI – It’s safe to say Petr Yan and Sean O'Malley have their differences.
The bantamweight contenders had a fiery exchange at Thursday’s UFC 280 pre-fight press conference. Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) went back and forth, trading shots ahead of their main card contest Saturday.
It started after O’Malley was asked bout his reaction to Yan calling him “a Conor McGregor wannabe.”
“I mean, Conor, some of the stuff he’s done recently, I don’t want to be. But he’s had a pretty sweet career, so that’s someone that’s not too bad to (be compared with),” O’Malley said. “I’m going to smash Petr, how about that? Is that a better answer?”
O’Malley went on to question Yan’s height. He’s listed at 5-foot-7 on UFC.com.
“It says he’s 5-(foot)-7 on the (UFC) stats, but there’s no way,” O’Malley said. “He’s 5-5. I just believe I’m a lot better everywhere.”
“It’s not about the height,” Yan said. “Just look at him. He’s like a whore on the side of the road.”
O’Malley, who typically doesn’t shy away from verbal sparring, decided not to reply.
“No, that was good. That was good.”
