O’Malley is easy prey for Umar. Khabib’s brother won’t repeat Sterling’s mistakes
Sergey Sorokin August 25, 2023, 10:10 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The new champion has a fierce deck, but just doesn’t have time to figure it out.
Sean O’Malley is the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. His win over Aljamain Sterling was a real sensation. Sugar caught his opponent in a serious mistake and immediately punished him. But recently it was hard to even believe that in two fights O’Malley would hang a championship belt on his shoulders. It is true that there are great doubts that Sean can become a dominant force in the bantamweight division. And the main threat comes from Russia.
Sugar is very similar to Notorious:
O’Malley is the new McGregor. The same tactics, exaggerations and even knockouts.
One of the most promising bantamweight fighters is Umar Nurmagomedov. Khabib’s brother just crushed his opponents and had to fight Corey Sandhagen. The American even said that the UFC planned to give this fight candidate status. But things turned out differently. The Russian was injured and was unable to enter the cage. Therefore, he dropped out of the belt race a bit. However, it is unlikely that after returning from the infirmary, the promotion bosses will let Umar marinate for a long time.
The fight between O’Malley and Nurmagomedov could be the most anticipated event, not only in the division, but outside of it as well. And all because the fighters are capable of waging the most powerful duel on the counter. In his last fight with Raoni Barcelos, the Russian landed an elegant knockout. Umar showed that he wasn’t afraid to miss and showed decent grip. However, one gets the feeling that in the fight for the title Orel’s brother will act more reliably than to destroy the entire intrigue.
O’Malley is a tough drummer. Almost all of his victories in the UFC were obtained by knockout. But I have never met fighters of this level. It is curious that even Piotr Yan gave him trouble in the stalls. Russian translated American on canvas. And it was not possible to achieve success only because Unmerciful himself is considered a drummer and does not often fight.
It looked like Sterling would easily seize his advantage in the fight and immediately start imposing it on O’Malley. And Aljo for some reason decided to start from the counter. And he was met with the most formidable weapon: Sean’s blows. Umar will not repeat the same mistake when the title is on the line. Khabib’s brother will immediately tie up the opponent, throw him to the ground and methodically disarm him.
What happened to Khabib’s brother:
“Going out to fight would be the most stupid.” Umar did not risk his health for the belt
O’Malley won, but it only eased Umar’s path to the title. Still, the well-built, plastic Sterling could be a more serious test. He has already shown that he is capable of messing around in the fight, of surprising in the posture. Sean is a more straightforward fighter. And against Nurmagomedov you have to surprise. Otherwise, the championship belt will go to Russia.
