UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley says he still has that undefeated mindset, which prompted former champ Henry Cejudo to respond.
O’Malley officially suffered the first loss of his pro MMA career at UFC 252 when Marlon Vera finished him with strikes. However, O’Malley suffered an injury prior to the finish, and in the aftermath, he has not given his opponent Vera any sort of credit for the victory. Several UFC fighters such as Darren Till have piped up, saying that O’Malley should take the loss in stride.
However, O’Malley isn’t backing down on his comments. In a video posted to “The Suga Show,” O’Malley said he still considers himself an undefeated fighter despite the loss.
The Suga Show still has that undefeated mindset 😤 (via @SugaSeanMMA) pic.twitter.com/wvk5EmF7sZ
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 30, 2020
“Did he win? Yes. Am I undefeated? Yes. Mentally, I’m 12-0. I didn’t lose sh*t. I was dominating that fight. I felt superior in there until my foot gave out. I know you guys — I probably sound stupid, but that’s ok, cause look at me, I’m a little not that smart,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley’s comments led to the former champ Cejudo piping in, tweeting at UFC president Dana White and telling him to send O’Malley back to the Contender Series.
@danawhite I have a suggestion! Can we trade this dirty Q-Tip to the Contender? 🙏 #bendtheankle https://t.co/8KEJE9kRx9
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 30, 2020
@danawhite I have a suggestion! Can we trade this dirty Q-Tip to the Contender? #bendtheankle
At age 25, O’Malley is still one of the brightest prospects in the UFC bantamweight division, and he has plenty of time to turn things around and get back in the win column. While it’s good to see that the loss hasn’t hurt him mentally, at the same time perhaps he needs to be a little bit more honest about what happened in the Octagon. Yes, he did get hurt, but at the end of the day, he was finished by Vera. As Till said, perhaps he should take the loss in stride, learn from it, and return to the Octagon better than ever.
Do you still consider Sean O’Malley unbeaten due to the injury he suffered before getting finished by Marlon Vera?