“Takes confidence to take a day off” - Sean O'Malley mocks Umar Nurmagomedov’s “intelligence” amid Dagestani's extended hiatus from the octagon

Sean O'Malley has recently made light of Umar Nurmagomedov's intelligence, citing his prolonged absence from the octagon.

The rivalry between O'Malley and Nurmagomedov has flared up lately, not within the octagon, but rather on social media.

During a recent Q&A session on GQ Sports' YouTube channel, 'Sugar' responded to the 28-year-old Dagestani's previous remarks, where Nurmagomedov had asserted that he could finish the 135-pound champion in a potential bout. O'Malley stated:

"Yeah, Umar's definitely a dangerous opponent. I think he just has an issue getting to fights. I think he's fought one time last like three years. Who knows if it's diet or if it's just a training schedule? Takes confidence to take a day off."

He added:

"Some of those guys just go hard every day. Shows a level of intelligence and they're stupid."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below (2:22):

The feud, triggered by remarks from lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, seemingly became the catalyst for verbal clashes between the two bantamweight fighters.

O'Malley initially teased Makhachev, who has expressed interest in moving up to welterweight for a potential bout against champion Leon Edwards in pursuit of a double-champion status. O'Malley asserted, "Leon beats Islam," leading Makhachev to retort with, "Umar beats Suga".

Nurmagomedov appeared to be displeased by the 29-year-old American's tweet and challenged O'Malley to a fight.

Check out the social media exchanges below:

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Sean O'Malley opens up about fighting Aljamain Sterling with an injury

Sean O'Malley recently stated that he had a pre-existing injury before his bout with Aljamain Sterling.

O'Malley secured the UFC bantamweight championship with a second-round TKO victory over 'Funk Master' at UFC 292 last August.

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, 'Sugar' disclosed that he wasn't in peak health on the night he won the belt. O'Malley mentioned that he would have been significantly hindered in displaying a well-rounded game, especially if the fight transitioned to the ground:

"Main event, Boston, I had to show up. You know if it would have been; I tried to grapple a little bit. I was not able to grapple at all obviously. I've said that plenty of times but I was able to kickbox. My whole goal going into the fight before I was injured was not to let him take me down."

He added:

"That was the whole gameplan. I wasn't shying away from that. I don't want him to take me down. So after I had the rib injury, that was the gameplan. I literally could not let him take me down."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below (2:00):

O'Malley is gearing up to put his title on the line against former rival Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299, scheduled for March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.