Sean O’Malley followed a largely easy path to the top, therefore he is perplexed by Paddy Pimblett’s approach.
O’Malley has experienced some setbacks since getting signed from the Contender Series in 2017, but his popularity has steadily increased with each victory, reaching a pinnacle with his victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 this past August, which gave him the bantamweight title.
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Sean O’Malley’s Opinion On Ferguson vs Pimblett
Since joining the UFC from England’s Cage Warriors promotion, Pimblett’s popularity has also skyrocketed. Like O’Malley, he has attracted both supporters and critics despite winning his first four UFC fights. He will then face lightweight Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 on December 16, a matchup that has sparked a heated debate.
Pimblett’s pairing with a failing veteran, in O’Malley’s opinion, doesn’t provide the brazen Scouser too many advantages.
“Initial reaction, I’m like, ‘Goddamn, that’s a lose-lose for Paddy, You go out there and beat Tony—who’s really good, but on a six-fight losing streak—so if you beat him, you’re not going to get credit for beating f****** Tony Ferguson. You’re going to get credit for beating a guy that’s like, you should beat him, but it’s a dangerous fight. It’s not that easy of a fight.
“It’s going to be a tough fight. Tony could 100 hundred percent win this fight. Now you’re coming off a loss to a guy—I mean, at least it’s still T-Ferg, but it’s like, is it T-Ferg?”
The 39-year-old Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion in the UFC, has suffered six straight defeats since June 2019, marking the worst run of his career. These defeats have occurred in a variety of disheartening ways, like as harsh knockouts, unexpected submissions, and lopsided decisions.
When Pimblett enters the octagon at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he will be returning off a year-long break; his most recent victory was a contentious unanimous decision over Jared Gordon. Ferguson has a potential to pull off an upset, according to several previous fighters, including Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier. He entered as a sizable -340 favourite.
