Sean O'Malley is afraid he might have to wait a little longer than he’d like for his shot at UFC gold.
O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) cemented himself as No. 1 bantamweight contender when he edged out former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 in October. But with the UFC apparently deciding to give the returning Henry Cejudo the next crack at reigning champ Aljamain Sterling, it could be a while for O’Malley.
No date has been announced for the title fight between Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) and Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), which has O’Malley thinking if he should compete in the meantime, but he doesn’t think it’s worth the risk.
“I’m in a tricky position,” O’Malley said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “I’ve always knew I’d be in this position where you’re at the top of the division, (and) it doesn’t really make sense to fight. I’m guaranteed a title shot.
“Obviously Aljo and Henry still have to be announced, so I’m kind of in that position to where I’m like, ‘Do I be smart like I’ve done my entire career and just wait for those two dorks to fight, or do I risk it and go fight someone else?’ Which wouldn’t be the intelligent thing to do, but it’s like you only get so many years to fight, and I don’t really like sitting around too much. But I’m leaning towards waiting for Aljo and Henry to fight and just wait for that.”
O’Malley doesn’t mind that Cejudo was awarded the title shot before him. He’ll use the extended time off to capitalize on working on an area of his game that he knows will be vital – whether he faces Sterling or Cejudo.
“I’m not really too worried about it,” O’Malley said. “I’m just training. I’m getting better. I know I need to improve in aspects of my grappling whether I fight Aljo or Henry. Both are very heavy grapplers, so I’m fine with sitting out. I’m literally just grappling. That’s all I’m really doing nowadays, so I’m fine waiting a couple of extra months, just keep getting better.”
