‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley has a message for the haters: He doesn’t care.
Speaking at the UFC 276 media day, ahead of his forthcoming clash with Pedro Munhoz, the 27-year-old rising stat addressed his realization that no matter how hard you try, you can’t always please everyone.
“I could submit Khabib and people would be like, ‘Yeah, but,’” O’Malley said at the press event on Wednesday, believing he’d be criticized regardless of such a feat. It’s not a factor that plays on his mind.
“So I pay no attention to what the negative fans say – It doesn’t matter to me. Yes, I’ll go out there and finish Pedro, and yes, it’ll be like, ‘Yeah, but,’ so it doesn’t matter.”
The AllStar MMA roundup
- UFC Long Island: UFC: Shane Burgos predicts beautiful violence opposite Charles Jourdain – ‘I’m getting the finish this time’
- DWCS: Wrestling prodigy Bo Nickal to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series
- The Original Fight Island: George Hickman of Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA
The best of the rest
- Cain Velasquez plea hearing pushed back again; civil lawsuit filed against Harry Goularte alleging sexual battery on minor child – MMAFighting.com
- Debunking ‘Tittygate’: Israel Adesanya issues $3 million challenge to anyone who can prove steroid use – MMAJunkie.com
- Alexander Volkanovski respects Max Holloway’s ‘legendary chin,’ but confident ‘it can’t hold up forever’ – MMAJunkie.com
- Apples to Apples: Why UFC’s Volkanovski will make a pittance compared to boxing’s Kambosos – BloodyElbow.com
- Robbie Lawler ‘for sure’ open to boxing Jake Paul – BloodyElbow.com
The call
UFC vet Damien ‘Beat Down’ Brown drops in again with his tips for this weekend’s main and co-main events.
Izzy by TKO Rd 4, Volk/Holloway will be split.
Damien Brown to The AllStar’s Chris Ferguson
Here are the lines as they currently stand, presented by crypto sportsbook Cloudbet:
Israel Adesanya (22-1) vs Jarred Cannonier (15-5)
Alex Volkanovski (24-1) vs Max Holloway (23-6)
Volkanovski/Holloway under/over 4.5
The soapbox
Belal Muhammad shares his tip for the main event:
Brandon Royval cops an injury, force out of grappling match this weekend:
Merab Dvalishvili and the mischief he gets up to:
Sean Strickland goes off on kickboxers at media day:
Figgy signs a new management deal :
The morning view
John Hyon Ko catches up with Jada Ketley and Uyen Ha in the latest episode of Fine Dining with Fighters:
LFA prospect Paris Stanford chats to The AllStar about his two year absence from the sport:
UFC 276 Embedded ep. 3 drops:
Done deals
This week
- Miranda Maverick to fight Shanna Young at UFC 278 on on 20th of August (per MMA Kings)
- Lauren Murphy to fight Miesha Tate at UFC Long Island on 16th of July (per Ariel Helwani)
- Jared Vanderaa to fight Chase Sherman at UFC Vegas 58 on 9th of July
On this day in MMA…
On June 30, 2001, WEC staged its first event as a promotion, titled “Princes of Pain” at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore California.
The 10- fight card was headlined by Dan Severn and Travis Fulton.
Severn is now 64 years old, and (seems to) have finished his career with a record of 101-19. He last fought in 2012.
Travis Fulton died in 2021. He hung himself while in federal custody on some… gruesome charges (trigger warning).
