"He cannot start slow" - Daniel Cormier breaks down the factors that could give Sean O'Malley an advantage in his fight against Petr Yan at UFC 280

Daniel Cormier has shed light upon the factors that could potentially give Sean O'Malley an advantage in his upcoming fight against Petr Yan. 'Sugar' is scheduled to face former UFC bantamweight champion, Yan, in a highly anticipated matchup at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., on October 22.

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier suggested that Sean O'Malley and his team as well are supremely confident heading into UFC 280. 'DC' referenced the fact that O'Malley's coach, Tim Welch, went as far as claiming that 'Sugar' could make Petr Yan "look stupid" in their fight.

Cormier insinuated that the abundance of confidence in the O'Malley camp could likely help him against Yan. Nevertheless, the UFC Hall of Famer acknowledged that O'Malley has never faced a fighter of Yan's caliber thus far in his MMA career.

All things considered, 'DC' emphasized that the biggest factor that could play in Sean O'Malley's favor is Petr Yan's tendency to start slow in his fights. Breaking down the much-awaited 135-pound bout, Cormier stated:

"One factor in this fight that Petr Yan really has to try to fix is he cannot start slow. He's traditionally a very slow starter. He cannot do that in this fight. He's got to go fast. He's got to try to overwhelm O'Malley early because, again, it [a fight against a top-tier UFC bantamweight] is just foreign to him [O'Malley] because O'Malley has not been in this situation before. O'Malley has not been to the top of the mountain as Petr Yan has."

Watch Cormier discuss the topic at the 7:35 minute mark in the video below:

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'Sugar' Sean O'Malley foresees his fight with Petr Yan being a striking-heavy showdown

Speaking to The Schmo earlier this year, Sean O'Malley addressed his upcoming clash against fellow striking savant Petr Yan. Intriguingly, O'Malley lauded 'No Mercy' for his exceptional defensive grappling prowess.

'Sugar' notably praised the impressive submission defense Yan displayed in his rematch against reigning UFC bantamweight champion and grappling wizard Aljamain Sterling.

Considering the aforementioned variables at play, Sean O'Malley pointed out that despite being a BJJ black belt, he'd prefer striking with Petr Yan rather than engaging in a grappling contest.

Indicating that he aims to secure the win by any means necessary, O'Malley said:

"I would get the same satisfaction choking out Petr Yan [as knocking him out] but I definitely just see this being a sweet kickboxing match. I've said that since the fight's been announced. Aljamain's grappling is extremely high level and for Aljo to take Petr's back and have that defense shows how good Petr is with being able to defend Aljo from choking him."

Watch O'Malley's assessment below: