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Chael Sonnen has asserted that UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley takes a great risk by choosing to fight unranked opponents.
In an edition of Chael Sonnen's Beyond the Fight, 'The American Gangster' highlighted that Sean O’Malley has time and again been criticized for fighting unranked opponents despite already sporting an impressive UFC record. Using O'Malley's bout against Kris Moutinho as an example, Sonnen stated:
“It’s one of the great risks. Sean O’Malley just did this. Two fights ago, Sean O’Malley took on a gentleman named Kris [Moutinho]. Kris turned out to be as tough as an old leather boot. But Kris had never fought in the organization [UFC], which means what, guys? There was no footage on him. Sean doesn’t know what he’s getting into. And a lot of people try to use this to hurt Sean O’Malley – ‘Oh, he’s fighting a new guy. Fighting a guy that’s not even debuted yet. He’s fighting a guy that’s not even ranked.’ He’s fighting a guy he doesn’t know anything about. It’s the scariest thing in the world to do."
Sonnen went on to assert that it's harder to fight a ranked fighter, versus an unknown. Mainly due to the lack of tape on the lesser known fighter, versus a high-profile competitor.
"You’d rather take on the No.5 guy in the world, than a guy making his debut, if you had ten videos of the No.5-ranked guy versus none over here. Sean should’ve gotten credit for taking on Kris. He didn’t. People chose to be jerks; try to take it away from him.”
Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Sean O’Malley fighting unranked opponents, and much more, in the video below:
Sean O'Malley explains why he prefers to fight unranked opponents in the UFC
Earlier this year, Sean O’Malley appeared on the No Jumper podcast and opened up on multiple topics. One of the most notable talking points from the interview was ‘Sugar’s’ explanation regarding why he’s fine with continually fighting unranked opponents.
Sean O’Malley recalled that Chael Sonnen said a fighter should try to fight the worst opponent possible in the best spot of a fight card. O’Malley emphasized that he looks at fighting from a businessperson’s perspective rather than just as a fighter.
The UFC knockout artist added that he’ll get paid the same regardless of whether he fights a top-tier fighter or an unranked opponent.
Sean O’Malley indicated that while he doesn’t shy away from any challenges, he generally fights easier, lesser-skilled foes on high-profile fight cards.
Presently, O’Malley is on a three-fight win streak and could compete in his next UFC fight in March or April 2022. With O'Malley recently breaking into the rankings at No.13, it's likely that he will be facing off against a ranked opponent next.
