Between them, UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall know a thing or two about getting opponents out of there.
Both men are incredibly fast and accurate strikers who often rely on reading their opponents and lining them up for the perfect shot.
The major talking point heading into O’Malley’s second title defense at UFC 306 this weekend is whether he can land that on Merab Dvalishvili without being taken down and smothered.
“Suga” isn’t going to be an easy opponent to get hold of and though his distance control and timing makes him very dangerous on the feet, Aspinall believes that it’s his decision making that is his biggest advantage in this fight.
Tom Aspinall Credits Sean O’Malley’s Ability To Thrive Under Pressure As A Potential Difference Maker
On a recent episode of Tom Aspinall’s Fight Lab on TNT Sports, the interim heavyweight champ broke down the main event that is set to take place this weekend.
When looking at O’Malley’s game and some of his previous fights, Aspinall drew special attention to how relaxed he is inside the Octagon.
This allows him to stay loose, clear-minded and creative. which the Brit believes is what makes him so effective under the bright lights.
“The timing is fantastic and as I said, how calm he is is something that I can really respect because being in there, having so much pressure on you, especially when you talk about title fights, he just makes really, really good decisions at a really good time and that’s really difficult to do.”
O’Malley’s ability to be so calculated in the moment helps him to pick his shots and predict what his opponents are going to do next, which will be crucial against Dvalishvili at UFC 306.
While “Suga” isn’t without his critics, Aspinall admitted that it was his big step-up against Petr Yan at UFC 280 that really sold him on O’Malley as a legitimate contender in the bantamweight division.
“That’s only something you can do when you’re super relaxed, you can’t do that when you’re stiff in there. You have to be like almost at that playful mindset. I was kind of on the fence with him thinking ‘yeah, he’s getting fed a couple of easy opponents and this, that and the other.’ It’s the Yan fight for me ‘cuz he showed a lot or grit in that as well. We all knew how good Yan was coming into it and then it was a tough fight, in my opinion, it could have gone either way but just the grit that he showed in there. I think he got a lot of fans’ respect, at least for me anyway.”
