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Henry Cejudo recently appeared on the Mike Swick podcast and spoke about Sean O'Malley, stating that he "likes" the young Bantamweight but, at the same time, is hating on him.
While he praised Sean O'Malley's overall ability, Henry Cejudo doesn't believe that he's built to last. Henry Cejudo elaborated a bit further (H/T MMA Fighting):
“He hasn’t been through a war. You can give the pain but can you take the pain? That’s the difference between somebody like Sean O’Malley and me. Does he have better striking than me? Probably because of his length and his range, makes him a little dangerous. But you’ve just got to be the full package.”
Henry Cejudo admitted that while he isn't friends with Marlon Vera, he had shot him a message giving him a piece of advice on how to beat Sean O'Malley:
“Right before he fought Sean O’Malley, I sent him a message,” Cejudo said. “We’re not even friends but we have a lot of friends in common. I’m like listen the way to beat this dude — make him fight his ‘B’ side. Put him in the clinch, put him against the cage and because of the stance because he’s always heavy with his lead foot forward, I said smoke the hands and take out the f**king kicks. Just smoke the hands and just blasting that front kick, that calf kick.
Ultimately, Henry Cejudo admitted that he didn't go into too much detail because he felt that Vera's team had the strategy planned already.
Henry Cejudo on Sean O'Malley having to bounce back
While Henry Cejudo criticized Sean O'Malley for being able to give pain and not take it, he admitted that O'Malley's best trait is his confidence. However, Sean O'Malley was heavily criticized by fans for how he handled his loss to Marlon Vera.
Sean O'Malley cited his injured foot as a reason for his defeat - something many people felt was an excuse. To add to that, O'Malley stated that his career trajectory would see him become World Champion in a few years while he felt that Vera would be a journeyman.
Having such an attitude towards losses won't help his popularity. However, MMA is a sport where losses are all but inevitable. It's ultimately up to O'Malley and how he chooses to bounce back.
