UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has suggested he could make the move up to the featherweight division in the next couple of years.
O’Malley’s comment came after he recorded his sixth victory since debuting for the UFC in 2017. Against short-notice opponent Kris Moutinho at UFC 264, “Suga” landed 230 significant strikes across the duration of the fight, the fourth highest in UFC history behind only Nate Diaz’s win against Donald Cerrone and Max Holloway’s victories over Brian Ortega and Calvin Kattar.
Despite an incredible display of grit, resilience, and pressure, O’Malley finally stopped Moutinho with less than a minute of the final round remaining.
But despite back-to-back wins at 135 pounds and only one setback in the division, O’Malley has admitted that he’s strongly considering a switch to featherweight in the future.
Speaking during his post-fight interview, the 26-year-old provided a timeframe for his estimated move up to 145 pounds.
“These weight cuts aren’t fun. I’m not a little bantamweight. They’re brutal. So I could fight at ’45 in the next couple of years,” revealed O’Malley.
The fan favorite’s revelation came even after stating that he’s the biggest draw in the bantamweight division and expects to be headlining PPV events after a few more fights.
If O’Malley continues his form and can beat the likes of Rob Font and Dominick Cruz, two names he called out during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, a move up to featherweight to face some of the top 145-pound strikers could be an intriguing prospect. With the likes of Max Holloway, Giga Chikadze, Edson Barboza, and Ilia Topuria in the mix, there are certainly some entertaining matchups for O’Malley should he switch weight classes further down the line.
But before thinking of a featherweight move, O’Malley will have his eyes firmly set up the ladder at bantamweight. Having beaten Thomas Almeida and the debuting Moutinho in his last two outings, it stands to reason O’Malley will have a number next to his name after the next update.
If the much-higher ranked Rob Font turns down his callout, the likes of Ricky Simon, Jimmie Rivera, Cody Stamann and Raphael Assuncao are all possible options for O’Malley for his next fight, which he says will likely be towards the end of the year.
How do you think Sean O’Malley would fare at featherweight?
