Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley finishes a game Kris Moutinho at UFC 264

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Sean O'Malley

Kicking off the main card of UFC 264 tonight was a showdown in the bantamweight division. Rising star “Suga” Sean O’Malley (13-1) returned as he was taking on promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho (9-4).

Originally, O’Malley was supposed to take on Luis Smolka at UFC 264. However, Smolka had to pull out of the fight. Once Smolka was out of the fight, the promotion shopped around several replacement options.

Ultimately, they landed on UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho. Moutinho has spent his entire career thus far fighting on the regional circuit. Heading into tonight, he was on a two-fight win streak.

His last fight came in May at Cage Fury Fighting Championships. He submitted Andrew Salas in the third round. Out of his nine professional wins, Moutinho has four finishes and five wins via decision.

The Suga Show bounced back well after he suffered his first career defeat. Last August at UFC 252, O’Malley suffered his first loss at the hands of Chito Vera. He returned at UFC 260 where he knocked out Thomas Almeida. So far in his UFC career, O’Malley is 5-1 with three knockouts.

UFC 264 Recap

Round 1

The UFC 264 bantamweight contest kicked off with immediate pressure from Moutinho. O’Malley circles on the outside and lands a massive leg kick. More pressure from Moutinho as O’Malley lands a nice jab.

Moutinho throws a combination, but he’s hit with a clean counter from O’Malley. Tons of pressure from Moutinho and O’Malley throws another kick. Powerful kick from Moutinho and O’Malley lands a massive jab.

Big kicks from O’Malley and The Suga Show is on. However, Moutinho isn’t backing away and he throws bombs back at O’Malley. 1-2 from O’Malley as Moutinho pushes forward. Massive combination rocks Moutinho bad.

O’Malley showboating here as he’s teeing off on Kris Moutinho. O’Malley slows his pace as Moutinho goes back to the pressure after he recovers. Moutinho isn’t backing down at all as he pushes forward threw the bombs of O’Malley.

Big combination lands for Kris Moutinho. Massive low kick from Moutinho and O’Malley is slowing down. Back-to-back 1-2s land for O’Malley. Moutinho continues to push forward like a zombie. Moutinho dropped as the round closes and it’s 1-0 O’Malley at UFC 264.

Round 2

Moutinho looked out on his feet in between rounds at UFC 264. Spinning back kick lands for O’Malley to start the striking in round two. Moutinho is talking so much to O’Malley as he pushes forward here in the second.

More pressure from Moutinho here. Jab lands for O’Malley. Huge right hand connects for O’Malley. Head kick from O’Malley and he follows with two jabs. Left straight for Suga. Moutinho lands a body kick as he pushes forward.

Moutinho is putting so much pressure on O’Malley here in the second. Left straight from O’Malley connects. Moutinho pushes O’Malley back to the fence and O’Malley circles as he lands a body kick. Powerful leg kick from Suga Sean.

I’m so impressed with Kris Moutinho here as he just keeps coming. Right hand lands for Moutinho. Combination from Moutinho and O’Malley lands a big right straight as he moves in. Moutinho’s face is busted up here and O’Malley is looking tired.

Both men exchange lefts with a minute left. Big body shot lands for O’Malley. Left hook from Moutinho and O’Malley is starting to fade a little. Right hand from Moutinho and he’s gaining momentum. That said, as the round ends, it’s 2-0 O’Malley at UFC 264.

Round 3

Heading into the final round at UFC 264 and Moutinho needs a finish. Kicks to open for O’Malley here in the third. Moutinho pushes forward and lands a low kick. Moutinho is talking to O’Malley as he’s walking him down.

Big shot lands for Moutinho and O’Malley circles and jabs. Body kick lands for O’Malley. Big right hooks land for Kris Moutinho. O’Malley looking exhausted here in the third round. Low kick lands for Kris Moutinho.

Big deep breaths from Sean O’Malley. Right straight lands for O’Malley and another big hook on the exit. Big headkick lands for O’Malley, but Moutinho just smiles and walks forward. Big combination from Kris Moutinho.

Beautiful combination from O’Malley as again, Moutinho pushes forward. Moutinho is wearing a ton of damage, but he’s not moving back. O’Malley lands a big 1-2. He follows that up with a few big shots, but Moutinho doesn’t even stop.

Moutinho is literally a zombie that’s not going away here in the third. The underdog smiles as he continues to press forward. Big jab from O’Malley and O’Malley lands a few big shots behind it. Herb Dean steps in and the crowd erupts in boos as Moutinho protests the stoppage.

Sean O’Malley def. Kris Moutinho by TKO – Round 3

UFC 264 Preview: Sean O’Malley – Kris Moutinho

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Sean O'Malley

Kicking off the main card of UFC 264 tomorrow night is a showdown in the bantamweight division. Rising star “Suga” Sean O’Malley (13-1) is back as he will be taking on promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho (9-4).

Originally, O’Malley was supposed to take on Luis Smolka at UFC 264. However, Smolka had to pull out of the fight. Once Smolka was out of the fight, the promotion shopped around several replacement options.

Ultimately, they landed on UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho. Moutinho has spent his entire career thus far fighting on the regional circuit. Heading into tomorrow night, he’s won back-to-back fights.

His last fight came in May at Cage Fury Fighting Championships. He submitted Andrew Salas in the third round. Out of his nine professional wins, Moutinho has four finishes and five wins via decision.

The Suga Show bounced back well after he suffered his first career defeat. Last August at UFC 252, O’Malley suffered his first loss at the hands of Chito Vera. He returned at UFC 260 where he knocked out Thomas Almeida. So far in his UFC career, O’Malley is 5-1 with three knockouts.

UFC 264 Prediction

Kris Moutinho is getting the shot of a lifetime tomorrow night at UFC 264. Prior to this fight, nobody knew who he was and now he is getting to fight someone like Sean O’Malley on the main card of the biggest card of the year.

In reality, Moutinho has nothing to lose tomorrow night. However, he has everything to gain and that’s what makes him a dangerous opponent. Sean O’Malley on the other hand has virtually nothing to gain while having everything to lose.

In reality, Sean O’Malley needs to make this look easy tomorrow night. No disrespect to Kris Moutinho, but O’Malley needs to show the world that there are levels to this. An ultra competitive fight is still a loss for O’Malley even if he gets his hand raised at UFC 264.

That said, I do believe that O’Malley is going to go out and put on a show. I think the fight goes into the second round, but O’Malley will find the finishing blow and secure another knockout for his personal highlight reel.

Prediction: Sean O’Malley by TKO – Round 2

UFC books Sean O’Malley – Kris Moutinho

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Sean O'Malley

The Suga Show has a new opponent for UFC 264. MMA Junkie was the first to confirm this afternoon that Sean O’Malley (13-1) will be staying on the card next weekend and he will be taking on UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho (9-4).

This all comes together after O’Malley’s original opponent, Luis Smolka, had to pull out of UFC 264. Earlier today, it looked like there could be some momentum in talks to book O’Malley against Ricky Simon (18-3).

Simon voiced interest in fighting O’Malley and that appeared to be the fight that O’Malley wanted. Simon is riding a three-fight win streak and the UFC was interested in making it happen. However, Ariel Helwani reported that Simon couldn’t make 135 pounds on such short notice.

With that, the promotion shifted gears and looked at a number of replacements. Despite many UFC bantamweights volunteering for the fight, it’s a newcomer that is getting the call up to the biggest show and stage possible.

Moutinho’s UFC Debut

What a massive opportunity this is for the 28 year old Kris Moutinho. Obviously he will be a massive betting underdog, but he’s getting a shot at arguably the biggest UFC event of the year.

Moutinho is getting to come in and make his debut against the hype machine that is Suga Sean O’Malley. Not too mention the fact that he’s going to be kicking off a PPV card that is headlined by the biggest star in the sport, Conor McGregor.

Moutinho will make his UFC debut on the heels of back-to-back wins. The last time he fought was about a month ago at CFFC 96 where he picked up an arm-triangle choke win in the third round.

This is a massive step up in competition for Moutinho at UFC 264. To date, Moutinho has only been in the cage with one guy who has fought in the UFC. That was against current UFC fighter Tony Gravely back in 2019. Worth noting that Moutinho was stopped in that fight.

This appears like it’s going to be a showcase for Sean O’Malley next weekend. He might end up being the biggest betting favorite on the card which does make it a risky fight. However, I think it might be a quick night for The Suga Show at UFC 264.

UFC books Sean O’Malley – Louis Smolka

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Sean O'Malley

The UFC is finalizing a fun bantamweight matchup for their July PPV. Ryan Frederick was the first to report this afternoon that the promotion had verbal agreements in place for Sean O’Malley (13-1) – Louis Smolka (17-7).

The matchup will take place at UFC 264 the same night as Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier III. This is a big fight for Louis Smolka and Suga Sean. Smolka is coming off of a win over Jose Alberto Quinonez in December.

O’Malley had knocked out Quinonez earlier in 2020. Prior to that, Smolka lost by guillotine choke to Casey Kenney. In his last five fights inside the UFC, Smolka has gone 3-2 with the two losses coming against Kenney and Matt Schnell.

This is actually the second UFC run for Smolka. Originally, Smolka was competing in the UFC‘s flyweight division. However, after he lost four-straight fights, the promotion let him go.

Smolka went do some some smaller promotions and won three straight to get back in the UFC. This is a massive opportunity for Smolka considering the name recognition of Sean O’Malley.

UFC 264 now features The Suga Show

Sean O’Malley is going to be looking for his second straight victory. We last saw O’Malley back at UFC 260 when he knocked out Thomas Almeida in the third round. It was a beautiful performance by the charismatic bantamweight.

The win was the perfect bounce back to his first career loss. Back at UFC 252, O’Malley took on Chito Vera. After starting the round well, O’Malley ate a brutal calf kick which caused him to roll his ankle multiple times.

Chito Vera was able to take advantage and stop O’Malley in the first. Prior to that loss, O’Malley had been 4-0 in the UFC. O’Malley has been very vocal about the fact that he still believes that he’s undefeated in his mind.

He doesn’t consider that fight to be a loss and even held up a zero when Bruce Buffer said he had one loss at UFC 260. This is going to be a very fun fight and whoever wins in July will likely find a ranking by their name the following week.

What’s next for Sean O’Malley after UFC 260?

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Sean O'Malley

This past Saturday at UFC 260, the Suga Show returned to the octagon. On the PPV main card, Sean O’Malley (13-1) took on Thomas Almeida (22-5) in a big matchup in the bantamweight division.

There is no questioning the fact that Sean O’Malley has star appeal. The young bantamweight contender has amassed a big following on social media and his fighting style/personality makes him a very polarizing figure.

O’Malley suffered his first career loss back at UFC 252 against Chito Vera (16-7-1). In that fight, O’Malley started very well, but ultimately, the calf kicks of Chito Vera cut down the young contender and Vera got the TKO win.

This was a huge fight for O’Malley because a loss would be detrimental to his appeal. Thomas Almeida at one point was looked at as a future UFC champion. He was once 21-1, however, a skid had him 1-3 in his last four leading to UFC 260.

Unfortunately for Almeida, the skid didn’t stop. Outside of landing some decent kicks, Almeida was completely dominated by O’Malley. O’Malley ended up scoring a massive third round KO to show the world that UFC 252 wasn’t the end of the Suga Show after all.

What’s next after UFC 260?

Prior to his loss to Vera, O’Malley had just entered the UFC’s top fifteen at bantamweight. With Vera in that fifteenth spot, I don’t expect to see O’Malley in the rankings when they get updated tomorrow.

However, I believe he needs to fight a ranked opponent in his next fight. There are a couple of options out there for the Suga Show. One fight I like is the winner of the upcoming Cody Stamann – Merab Dvalishvili fight. 

Whoever would win between that winner and O’Malley would shoot into the top ten of the division. However, there’s another intriguing matchup that Chael Sonnen mentioned on Saturday night.

That matchup would be against former UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz (23-3). Cruz just got back on the winning track after a lengthy layoff at UFC 259. A matchup between the two would make a lot of sense for both.

For O’Malley, it would give him the chance to defeat a former UFC champion and arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time. For Dominick Cruz, he could make a statement to O’Malley’s following that he’s still here and he’s not going anywhere. Several compelling options for The Suga Show.

Sean O’Malley knocks Thomas Almeida out at UFC 260

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Sean O'Malley

The third fight on the UFC 260 main card was a bantamweight showdown between “Suga” Sean O’Malley (12-1) and Thomas Almeida (22-4). Both of these men were looking to get back on track after a loss in their last outing.

Back at UFC 252, Sean O’Malley saw his perfect record see it’s first blemish in a loss to Chito Vera. After a good start from O’Malley, Vera landed some beautiful calf kicks that deadened the leg of O’Malley.

After that, Vera followed up and got the TKO win. O’Malley has become a star with a huge following, but in order for his star to grow, he needed to get back on track with a win tonight.

Standing in his way was Thomas Almeida. Almeida was once considered the future of the UFC‘s bantamweight division. At one point, he was 21-1 and looked like he was closing in on a title shot.

However, that is where he ran into Cody Garbrandt. Garbrandt knocked him out in the first round and starting with that loss, Almeida is just 1-3 in his last four. UFC 260 was a massive opportunity for him to get back on track.

UFC 260 Recap

Round 1

The UFC 260 bantamweight contest opened with a touch of the gloves. O’Malley moves forward immediately and looks to land a 1-2. Almeida gets his striking going with a calf kick.

O’Malley keeps looking for the left hand throughout the first minute. Another calf kick lands for Almeida, but O’Malley counters with his own big leg kick. A big body kick lands for O’Malley.

A nasty spinning back kick to the body lands for O’Malley. Almeida pushes forward and lands a massive left hook, but O’Malley just ate it. Another big body kick lands for Sean O’Malley.

The kicks were working everywhere for The Suga Show in the first. A massive head kick lands and Almeida goes down. O’Malley walks away, but the fight wasn’t stopped. Almeida gets up and they keep fighting.

Another huge head kick lands for O’Malley, but Almeida took this one clean. Almeida pushes forward and lands a good right hand to close the round. Dominant opening round at UFC 260 for Sean O’Malley.

Round 2

Almeida seemed to have recovered to start the second round at UFC 260. O’Malley opens the striking with a straight left hand. Almeida was struggling with the distance and O’Malley catches him with a clean combination.

A good low kick lands for Almeida and it sits down O’Malley briefly. Another massive low kick lands for Almeida. A side kick to the leg lands for O’Malley and it briefly buckles the leg of Almeida.

A couple of clean left hands land for Sean O’Malley. 1-2 up the middle for O’Malley. Again, it appears that Thomas Almeida was struggling with the distance. Front kick to the body lands for Sean O’Malley.

One minute left in the round and O’Malley starts pushing forward. However, Almeida lands some massive leg kicks that backs him off. O’Malley slips on a flying knee attempt and the round ends. I think it’s 2-0 O’Malley at UFC 260.

Round 3

Heading into the final round at UFC 260 and I think Almeida needs the finish in this one. The two touch gloves and the action begins. A good front kick lands to start for O’Malley.

A huge low kick from O’Malley swings Almeida around. Almeida looks for an entry, but O’Malley lands another front kick to the leg which made him back off. O’Malley was just picking Almeida apart here in the first 90 seconds.

A huge 1-2 lands for Sean O’Malley. Almeida starts pressing forward with urgency, but couldn’t land anything. A couple of clean straight lefts land from O’Malley, but Almeida keeps pushing forward.

O’Malley just keeps popping him with clean shots, but Almeida keeps coming. A massive left hand lands from O’Malley and Almeida falls. O’Malley walks away again, but the referee doesn’t stop it. This time, O’Malley follows with a massive clean shot and Almeida is out cold.

Sean O’Malley def. Thomas Almeida by KO – Round 3

UFC 260 Preview: Sean O’Malley – Thomas Almeida

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Sean O'Malley

Tomorrow night on the UFC 260 main card, we will see a highly anticipated bantamweight matchup. One of the young stars in the sport, “Suga” Sean O’Malley (12-1), is making his return against Thomas Almeida (22-4).

The last time we saw The Suga Show as back at UFC 252. O’Malley took on Chito Vera in the co-main event. Early on in the fight, I was encouraged by what I saw out of O’Malley.

His speed and feints were giving Vera issues and it looked like we could be heading towards another O’Malley win. However, Vera started to land some nasty calf kicks and one completely deadened the leg of O’Malley.

O’Malley proceeded to roll his ankle a few times and Chito capitalized to get the TKO win. It was the first loss for O’Malley, but there’s still a lot of UFC hype behind him. Prior to that loss, O’Malley had two TKO wins in 2020 after a two year layoff.

O’Malley is going to be looking to get back on track against Thomas Almeida. A few years ago, many were looking at Thomas Almeida as a future UFC champion. Almeida was 21-1 heading into a matchup with Cody Garbrandt.

Garbrandt ended up starching Almeida on his run to becoming UFC champion. Since then, Almeida has gone just 1-3 inside the octagon. The last time we saw him was back in October where he dropped a decision to Jonathan Martinez.

UFC 260 Prediction

When it comes to the hype around Almeida from a few years ago, I’m not sure it was really warranted. He had an incredible record, but a lot of that was padded. When the competition level really turned up, we saw him falter in the UFC.

However, you could also question the competition level of O’Malley. Now, when it comes to their skillsets, I really like Sean O’Malley. He’s longer, he’s crisper on the feet and he has very good skills on the ground that we really haven’t seen.

For Almeida to be successful at UFC 260, he needs to go right after O’Malley’s legs. Attack the lead calf and take the Chito Vera strategy. If he can’t, I think he’s going to get picked apart.

In addition to losing, we’ve also seen Almeida’s chin look incredibly suspect. If O’Malley lands clean tomorrow night, I think it’s over. In the end, I think O’Malley is going to get back on track with a TKO win at UFC 260.

Prediction: “Suga” Sean O’Malley by TKO – Round 1

UFC books Sean O’Malley – Thomas Almeida

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Sean O'Malley

The Suga Show is back. The UFC has finalized a matchup between “Suga” Sean O’Malley (12-1) and Thomas Almeida (22-4). O’Malley announced the news on his YouTube page last night and said that the fight was booked for UFC 260 at the end of March.

While O’Malley has a huge following with a lot of hype, several years ago, Thomas Almeida was a prospect with ton of hype. In 2016, Thomas Almeida was 21-0 and he looked like he was going to be a force in the UFC‘s bantamweight division.

That’s when the promotion booked him against Cody Garbrandt. At the time, Garbrandt and Almeida entered the contest as unbeaten prospects. However, only one of them looked elite on the night that they fought.

Almeida was knocked out by Cody Garbrandt in the first round. Thomas Almeida did bounce back later in the year with a knockout of Albert Morales. However, that’s the last time he’s tasted victory inside the octagon.

We’ve only seen Almeida in the UFC three times since 2017 and he’s lost all three. He just returned back in October for the first time since January of 2018 and dropped a decision to Jonathan Martinez.

UFC’s Suga Show

As we were going through 2020, it appeared that the sky was the limit for the Suga Show. Sean O’Malley had two years off with some USADA issues, but returned with two vicious knockouts in the first half of the year.

Many were saying that he would be challenging for a UFC title at some point in 2021. However, that was all derailed when he took on Chito Vera back at UFC 252 in August. O’Malley looked very good when the fight started.

Vera was biting hard on feints, but halfway through the round, Vera started finding success. He ended up landing a calf kick that deadened the leg of O’Malley. O’Malley ended up rolling his ankle a number of times after.

Seeing the wounded O’Malley in front of him, Chito went in for the kill and got the stoppage. In all honesty, if O’Malley was going to lose, it was the most ideal situation. He didn’t get outclassed or dominated so his brand really didn’t suffer.

Now, we will see his return at UFC 260. This fight is so interesting because Almeida needs to win to keep his spot in the UFC while O’Malley needs to win to regain some steam. It’s honestly a must-win fight for both of these bantamweights in March.

What’s next for Chito Vera after UFC Vegas 17?

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This past Saturday in the co-main event of the evening at UFC Vegas 17, Chito Vera (16-7-1) got the biggest fight of his career. Vera got the opportunity to face former featherweight champion, Jose Aldo (29-7).

Aldo was coming off of a loss in a title fight against the UFC bantamweight champion, Petr Yan. A win for Vera over Aldo would vault him into title contention. This was a big step up for him in competition.

Chito was coming off of a win over Sean O’Malley that took place at UFC 252. O’Malley was arguably the most hyped prospect in the UFC. However, Chito was able to use effective leg kicks to chop down the Suga Show.

There were a few things that worried me about Chito’s win over O’Malley leading up to UFC Vegas 17. In his win back in August, Chito was really biting on the feints of Sean O’Malley. Every time O’Malley would feint, Vera’s reaction was clear and obvious.

During the first round of their fight, O’Malley was getting the better of it before Vera’s leg kicks debilitated him. Going into a fight against a guy like Aldo, I thought Chito would have a lot of problems if he fought the same.

Unfortunately for Chito, he did in the first round. Aldo dominated the striking in the first round ripping to the body and kicking his legs. Chito did much better in the second round putting pressure on Aldo and stole the round with his pressure.

In the third round, Chito found himself taken down and had Aldo on his back for virtually the entire round. What resulted was a clear victory for the former UFC featherweight champion.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 17?

So the question becomes, what’s next for Chito Vera? I think this was a really good learning experience for Chito at UFC Vegas 17. He learned a lesson in the first and the third round.

In the first round, he was keeping his guard way too high which allowed Aldo to rip to the body and kick his legs. In the third round, his over aggressiveness got himself taken down and he couldn’t get Aldo off of his back.

Those two rounds will get Chito plenty of footage to go back and improve on. So what should the UFC do with Chito? I think a really good fight for Chito could by Cody Stamann (19-3-1).

Stamann is currently 13th in the UFC’s bantamweight division. He’s also coming off of a loss so the fight makes sense from a situation and rankings perspective.

The UFC could always run the fight back with Sean O’Malley. There’s a big portion of the MMA population that wasn’t satisfied with that win for Chito. Perhaps, Chito could put an exclamation point on another fight with the Suga Show.

UFC: Sean O’Malley announces the date of his return

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Sean O'Malley

The UFC‘s Suga Show is back. Per his official Instagram, Sean O’Malley (12-1) will be making his highly anticipated return early next year. O’Malley said that he will be returning to the UFC on February 13th.

February 13th is the targeted date for UFC 258 although that has not been confirmed. There are already some great matchups for that card including Kamaru Usman – Gilbert Burns as well as Chris Weidman – Uriah Hall 2. 

O’Malley’s addition will make the UFC‘s return to the US even bigger. The promotion is expected to start off 2021 on Fight Island with a card that will be headlined by Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. 

Dana White said last week that the UFC is planning on a three show run on Fight Island culminating with UFC 257 headlined by the rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. It’s not confirmed on if the promotion will have additional shows on Fight Island.

What we do know is that O’Malley’s return is tentatively scheduled for Las Vegas. O’Malley didn’t announce who is opponent was, but I’m anticipating we should know that information sooner rather than later.

UFC Return for the Suga Show

After nearly two years off, Sean O’Malley’s UFC return in 2020 couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. In March, he knocked out Jose Alberto Quinonez in the first round of their fight.

O’Malley topped that performance at UFC 250 when he had a clean walkoff knockout against former title challenger Eddie Wineland. The Suga Show was ready to bust into the top ten, however, he ran into Chito Vera back at UFC 252.

O’Malley looked sensational at the start of the fight. He had Vera biting heavy on nearly everything he was throwing and he was getting the better of the striking exchanges. However, near the end of the round, O’Malley started rolling over his ankle.

There’s been a lot of debate on whether this occurred due to ankle wraps or Vera’s calf kicks. Likely the latter of those two. Chito Vera took full advantage of the wounded O’Malley and ended up getting the first round finish.

It was a tough loss for O’Malley, but the future is still bright for him. He’s one of the up and coming stars for the promotion, and I’m very interested to see who the UFC is going to pair him with when he returns.