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Brian Kelleher is an unranked fighter currently competing in the UFC bantamweight division. Kelleher recently took to social media to hint that he is likely to fight surging bantamweight contender Sean O'Malley by the end of the year. The winner of a potential fight between the two could enter the top 15 of the division.
After beating Domingo Pilarte via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 29, Brian Kelleher decided to call out 'Suga.' According to Brian Kelleher, he is the 'easiest opponent' in O'Malley's eyes. Kelleher pointed out that O'Malley recently claimed he doesn't want to fight ranked guys, so it makes sense for them to scrap.
“O’Malley’s the guy. He says he doesn’t want to fight ranked guys. I’m not ranked right now, so I think that’s fitting. But I do think they’ll give him a bunch of options and he’ll pick the easiest one. And hopefully I’m the easiest one in his eyes,” Brian Kelleher said.
Why is Sean O'Malley unranked despite having a 5-1 UFC record?
Sean O'Malley is in a terrific run of form inside the octagon but remains content fighting unranked guys. O'Malley remains unranked despite having an impressive 5-1 record in the UFC. According to O'Malley, the risks of fighting ranked contenders are greater compared to the rewards.
He revealed that he gets offered the same amount to fight ranked contenders as he gets to fight unranked ones. O'Malley also gets to fight on blockbuster pay-per-views by fighting lesser-ranked athletes. He would prefer to compete against fighters lower down the order as they're often easier bouts.
“They wanted me to fight someone ranked last fight. I was supposed to fight Louis Smolka. For me, I have a contract to fight a certain amount of fights, and I’m gonna get paid a certain amount of money whether I fight Louis Smolka, the dude I was supposed to fight, or I fight Petr Yan, the No. 1 bantamweight in the UFC. I get paid the same. I’m gonna fight this dude and I’m going to fight this dude on a Conor McGregor pay-per-view," Sean O'Malley said on the No Jumper podcast.
