The Suga Show

UFC 269 Preview: Sean O’Malley – Raulian Paiva

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Sean O'Malley

Kicking off the PPV main card at UFC 269 is a battle between two dynamic strikers in the bantamweight division. The Suga Show is back as Sean O’Malley (14-1) takes on Brazilian standout Raulian Paiva (21-3).

This is a massive opportunity for Raulian Paiva to really put himself on the map at 135 pounds. Paiva made his UFC debut at 17-1 and he did it in the flyweight division. However, he got off to a rough start.

Paiva lost his first two fights and ultimately moved up in weight. He’s now on a three-fight winning streak which includes a win over O’Malley’s teammate in Kyler Phillips.

That said, Paiva has a tall mountain to climb at UFC 269. Sean O’Malley is one of the more dynamic fighters in all the UFC. He’s incredibly talented wherever the fight takes place, but he shines in the stand up.

O’Malley is huge for the weight class and he’s going to have a big size advantage on Saturday night. After suffering his first loss to Chito Vera last year, O’Malley has bounced back with two solid wins this year.

UFC 269 Preview

This is such a great fight to kick off the PPV main card because you have two guys who will stand in there and strike. These two will put on a show at UFC 269.

For Paiva, it’s going to be key to try and use his speed to his advantage. As mentioned, he’s going to be the smaller man in the cage so he’s going to need to be scappy.

On the flip side, O’Malley needs to keep the fight at range where he will have a big advantage. I’m expecting a kick-heavy attack from The Suga Show on Saturday night.

Ultimately, I’m finding a hard time seeing Paiva winning this fight. While I think he will put up a good fight, I think O’Malley catches him clean and puts him away in the second round.

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.