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Dan Hardy has given his thoughts on Sean O’Malley ahead of his clash with Raulian Paiva at UFC 269 this weekend.
The one thing that seems to be true for most mixed martial arts fans right now is that bantamweight is one of the best divisions in the sport. From UFC to Bellator and beyond, it’s pretty clear to see that there is a real wealth of talent both in the top 15 of the UFC and throughout so many other promotions.
Sean O’Malley, unsurprisingly, is viewed as a big fan favorite by many, all of whom tend to believe he has the potential to kick on and do some really impressive things in his career.
Dan Hardy, a well-respected figure in MMA, is one of those people. During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, 'The Outlaw' said:
“You’ve got to think this is an ideal test for Sean O’Malley. This has been positioned so that he opens the main card with the bang and you’ve got to think that Paiva is being positioned in this situation because they expect a particular outcome. Sean O’Malley is an excellent fighter, but he’s also a huge money earner for the UFC. For me, this is a fight where they expect Sean O’Malley to come out on top - so if I try and pick how, I think he just kind of dances around and skirts around the octagon and just picks him off from a distance and makes him look quite slow. Gets him frustrated, then runs him onto something.”
Catch Dan Hardy's appearance on Submission Radio below:
What has Sean O’Malley achieved thus far in the UFC?
'Suga' Sean O’Malley is 14-1 in his professional mixed martial arts career and is riding a two-fight win streak after success against Thomas Almeida and Kris Moutinho.
He did suffer a setback at the hands of Marlon 'Chito' in 2020 Vera, but that’s a defeat O’Malley isn’t willing to acknowledge.
Paiva is seen as a warm body for Sean O’Malley to run through and that’s generally been the story of his UFC tenure thus far. From his hair changes to his personable approach on social media, we’re talking about a 27-year-old who knows what he wants from this game.
