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Sean O'Malley was only minutes removed from his fight at UFC 276 when a potential next opponent presented himself. Henry Cejudo recently announced that he's unretiring, and exchanging words backstage could be the start of a fight against 'Sugar.'
O'Malley had an anti-climatic ending at UFC 276 with an accidental eye poke that led to a no-contest after Pedro Munhoz couldn't continue. While discussing the incident with BT Sport, Cejudo interrupted the rising star by saying:
"I'd love a tune-up. What do you say, precious? When would you want to bend the knee and what time because I think you absolutely suck."
Watch the confrontation between Sean O'Malley and Henry Cejudo below:
Cejudo last fought in May 2020, where he finished Dominick Cruz in the second round of their UFC 249 title fight. 'Triple C' then decided to retire before changing his mind earlier this year. Now that the Olympic gold medalist has re-entered the USADA testing pool, he needs an opponent for his return.
Meanwhile, O'Malley finds himself in an intriguing spot for his next fight. The no-contest left him without a statement win to advance him in the rankings. The UFC could reschedule the fight against Munhoz unless 'Sugar' decides to take on Cejudo or someone else.
Sean O'Malley reacts to the Henry Cejudo altercation during his post-fight press conference
After the altercation with Cejudo, O'Malley appeared in his post-fight media interview. It didn't take long for someone to ask about 'Triple C' and what happened. Now that he had a moment to process the situation, 'Sugar' had this to say:
"That little fata** should stay retired. He's running around drunk in the backstage, got escorted out, tripping over things, running into things. Looks like he's on drugs, looks fat. I don't know if he's having a midlife crisis or what."
Cejudo seems to be planting several seeds for his UFC return. 'Triple C' has now called out Aljamain Sterling, Alexander Volkanovski, and O'Malley. The former two-division champion's return is currently somewhat of a mystery with no specific timeframe, opponent, or weight class.
