Sean O’Malley suffered the first defeat of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career over the weekend.
O’Malley took part in the co-headliner for the UFC 252 pay-per-view (PPV) event, facing Marlon Vera at 135 pounds. “Sugar” was a heavy favorite by fans heading into the contest, but it was Vera who came out on top when it was all said and done. Early in the fight, O’Malley suffered from an apparent leg injury which hindered his ability to fight. Vera capitalized, eventually finishing O’Malley off on the ground in a stoppage that some argue was premature.
Vera has already fired back at naysayers, but now O’Malley has broken his silence on the situation. The 25-year-old took to his “The Timbo and Sugar Show” podcast and stated that Vera got “lucky” in their fight, and doubled down by saying the loss was even more difficult to swallow given he doesn’t think his Ecuadorian counterpart is very good.
“We picked the date, we picked the time and we both walked out: It doesn’t matter what the (expletive) happens,” O’Malley said. “Whoever wins, how it happens, however they win, wins. He won. It sucks for me because I lost to someone who I look at as not very good. I look at him and I’m like, ‘He’s not that good.’ And I (expletive) lost to him. That’s what’s the most frustrating thing.
“Losing to someone I’m better than. That ‘humble’ post was a (expletive) joke. So for everyone commenting stupid (expletive), I’m not humble. Let’s look at his career in five years let’s look at mine. I’m going to be (expletive) world champ and he’s going to be a (expletive) journeyman. That’s just what his style is. He wins some he loses some.
“He’s slow, but he’s gritty so he’s going to be able to finish some people after they beat him up for a while. … He gets lucky and beats me and jumps up like he won the (expletive) lottery. That just shows what kind of a (expletive) he was.”
It remains to be seen the exact severity of O’Malley’s injury, or how long he’ll be out of action. As for Vera, with a win over one of the division’s biggest stars, he’s likely in line for a big fight when he makes his return to the Octagon.
