Sean O'Malley issues five-word response after Conor McGregor praise
Sean O'Malley has seemingly buried the hatchet with Conor McGregor ahead of his return to the cage this weekend.
The former bantamweight champion is gearing up for a return to the octagon on Saturday as he goes head-to-head with Merab Dvalishvili in an eagerly anticipated rematch at the Prudential Center in Newark. The pair originally clashed last September - with Dvalishvili going on to claim the 135lb title after securing a unanimous decision win.
Following that triumph, Dvalishvili successfully defended his title back in January, beating Umar Nurmagomedov by decision. 'Suga,' on the other hand hasn't stepped into the cage since his defeat at UFC 306. Given how dominant the Georgian was in the first encounter, many are backing the 'Machine' to win again.
Yet, one unexpected supporter in O'Malley's corner is McGregor – surprising many. Despite being respectful of each other at first, their relationship took a sour turn over the last few years. The pair have traded verbal jabs online- with McGregor slamming 'Suga' over his previous issues with USADA.
Nevertheless, it seems they have moved past their grievances. McGregor lavished praise on O'Malley, remarking that his training camp echoes of McGregor's own ahead of his second bout with Nate Diaz: "Very reminiscent of my Diaz 2 prep. Intriguing! BIG FIGHT FEEL!" The Irishman wrote on X.
After hearing the news, O'Malley expressed delight at having the 'Notorious' in his corner once more. "Hell yeah, I will take it," O'Malley said during the UFC 316 media day. "I will forever be a huge Conor fan. I feel grateful to be able to watch his come up in my generation, I watched it happen. I think we'll look back, he had one of the craziest careers. It's cool to be able to watch it happen while I was getting into the UFC and everything. I'm pumped the relationship is back to good."
The 30-year-old added: "I have always taken inspiration from Conor fights. I've watched Conor fights more than probably any (fights), well, (I watch) my fights more, but I've watched a lot of Conor fights." In preparation for the upcoming rematch, O'Malley revealed he has watched plenty of sequels, including McGregor's second bout with Diaz - to see how they responded in the second bout when they were counted out.
"So I was watching Conor-Nate. I've just been watching a bunch of fights. We just have cameras recording so much, I did not realise that was a moment that got captured," he said. "I've been watching a bunch of fights. I've been watching some rematches."
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