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Since bursting onto the scene in 2017, Sean O’Malley has taken the bantamweight division by storm. An unorthodox striker with an elite combination of fluidity and length, O’Malley has quickly become a fan favorite thanks to his thundering knockouts.
As Sean O’Malley prepares for his next fight, a matchup with Aljamain Sterling for the UFC Bantamweight championship that’s set to be the biggest challenge of his career, now is the perfect time to look back on some of the iconic moments that got him here.
And with the new WWE merger, there’s buzz that we’ll see some of our favorite UFC fighters in matchups with our favorite wrestlers. Will O’Malley be one of those fighters? We sure hope so. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
A Special Talent
Sean O’Malley fights in a way that’s tailor-made for jaw-dropping highlights. O’Malley isn’t just one of UFC’s slickest strikers, he’s also an expert in using fluid movement and feints to get his opponents right where he wants them. Once there, O’Malley is absolutely relentless in his approach, able to win fights quickly either through massive one-hit KOs or nonstop combinations.
His top five fights all display his incredible striking skills, but each in their own unique way. Whether it’s a smart feint into an absolute howitzer of a right hand or a furious flurry of strikes at the first sign of weakness, O’Malley’s finest moments are right up there with the best of the best.
And he’ll need to be at the top of his game for his next fight. O’Malley is going head-to-head with Aljamain Sterling for the UFC Bantamweight Title on August 19, 2023, at UFC 292. If you want to learn more about other upcoming fights, readers can check other reputable sites that cover combat sports like Overtime Heroics.
5. O’Malley vs Paiva – December 11th, 2021
This match versus Raulian Paiva showcased O’Malley’s uncanny ability to find the exact right moment to pounce. O’Malley used his height and reach advantage to stay out of the way of Paiva’s early advances and then slowly started ramping up the aggression as the round progressed.
After landing a furious right hand with 35 seconds remaining, O’Malley ended it late in the first round with an unstoppable barrage of alternating hooks.
4. O’Malley vs Moutinho – July 10th, 2021
All respect to Kris Moutinho for taking on the challenge of Sean O’Malley in his first UFC fight ever, but this was an outright clinic in dominating a fighter over three rounds.
O’Malley was clinical in his approach, absorbing multiple bouts of pressure from Moutinho before responding with pinpoint strike after pinpoint strike. He also displayed the ability to absorb some hits in this fight, taking a few hard shots in a row during the second round practically unphased.
But by the end, Moutinho ended up looking like Sylvester Stallone at the end of the first Rocky movie following O’Malley’s unrelenting wave of hooks directly to the face in the closing minute of the fight.
3. O’Malley vs Khashakyan – July 18th, 2017
It would be criminal not to have the fight that got Sean O’Malley a UFC contract on this list. Coming in with a record of 7-0, the Montana fighter went up against fellow hopeful Alfred Khashakyan in the inaugural 2017 season of Dana White’s contender series.
This is the first fight on this list where O’Malley displays his spectacular one-punch knockout ability. He’s excellent at catching opponents completely unaware with these massive blows by having his arms at his side until the last moment, which is exactly what happened to poor Alfred.
As a nice bonus, Snoop Dogg went completely berserk on the call for this fight.
2. O’Malley vs Almeida – March 27th, 2021
Coming off the first loss of his career at the hands of the Ecuadorian Marlon Vera, O’Malley faced another tough challenge in Thomas Almeida, another former top bantamweight prospect who had faced some of the best fighters in the division.
Another three-rounder, O’Malley faced a lot of early pressure from Almeida thanks to his great movement. But, as the fight wore on, he found his groove and timing in a big way. After some clever feints got Almeida to fall on his back, O’Malley strolled up to him and delivered an absolutely savage right hook to end it.
1. O’Malley vs Wineland – June 6th, 2020
In our opinion, Sean O’Malley’s fight versus Eddie Wineland combines the best of both worlds when it comes to showcasing his strengths. Simply put, his movement in this fight was bonkers, constantly jumping in and out with an array of kicks and quick punches that caught Wineland completely off-guard.
Then, after nearly two minutes of quick actions, O’Malley pauses for a moment and cocks back an absolute nuke of a right arm out of nowhere, sending Wineland to the floor with one of the most satisfying KOs of the past few years.
A Huge Challenge
Sean O’Malley has had some incredible moments throughout his promising career, but his upcoming fight against Aljamain Sterling will easily be his toughest battle. O’Malley will have the height and reach advantage, but he’s never gone against a grappler as talented as Sterling, and he’ll have to find a way to maintain space against such an aggressive opponent.
But no matter what happens come August, O’Malley is a talented fighter who’s proven it time and time again in the Octagon with an incredible highlight tape. Fingers crossed, we get to see him in an ultimate UFC/WWE fight in the future too. Why not?
