ESPN and Bellator analyst Chael Sonnen, who is also a former UFC title contender, wants to see Cody Garbrandt vs. Sean O’Malley.
Garbandt and O’Malley were featured on the UFC 250 main card. The two competed in separate bouts. Garbrandt took on Raphael Assuncao, while O’Malley shared the Octagon with Eddie Wineland. Both “No Love” and “Sugar” scored highlight reel knockouts, earning both men “Performance of the Night” bonuses.
Sonnen Wants To See Garbrandt vs. O’Malley
Garbrandt and O’Malley appeared to have a harmless exchange on who had the better knockout. The “Sugar” show then expressed his belief that even at this early stage in his career, he feels he can knock Garbrandt out. Taking to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said he’s all in on a potential match (h/t BJPenn.com).
“I’d love to see that match,” Sonnen continued. “For many reasons, I’d love to see that match. I think that’s going to be possibly a hard one for O’Malley to get if you were to just go by the rankings. I’ve never bought into the idea fully, perhaps I should, that the winner of Aljo [Sterling] and Sandhagen would be the one to fight the winner of Aldo and Yan. The only reason I didn’t buy into it is because on that same card, you had the same weight class with Cody vs Assuncao — only that was two matches later! You don’t put your feature match earlier.”
O’Malley earned his debut on the UFC bantamweight rankings with his KO win over Wineland. As for Garbrandt, he returned to the top five rankings after sleeping Assuncao. “No Love” had planned to move down to the flyweight division but his stellar performance against Assuncao derailed that idea.
Not many fight fans are buying Garbrandt vs. O’Malley as a possibility right away. The general consensus is that the “Sugar” show has serious star potential. Throwing him in the fire with a former UFC bantamweight champion as dangerous as Garbrandt may not be the best choice for business. Of course, sometimes risks pay off big time so it’ll be interesting to see what direction the UFC goes in.
