Sean O’Malley admits expectations may not have matched reality when it comes to UFC Freedom 250.
O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) got his wish of being part of the White House event on June 14 when he takes on Aiemann Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC). The card, which is headlined by a title-unification bout between lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and interim champ Justin Gaethje, left many underwhelmed.
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Although the co-main event features an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, people were hoping for the return of Conor McGregor or Jon Jones possibly. O’Malley recalls the disappointment from fans when the Sphere card was announced – so he can relate.
“White House card, not being a White House card, just a numbered event, people would be like, holy sh*t, this is a good card,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “The fact that it is the White House card and we were promised some crazy sh*t, it was a little similar to the Sphere. It was like, I mean, we got our hopes up too much, I think. But if you add Charles (Oliveira) to this, this could make up for it. Charles vs. Arman, that’s f*cking exciting.”
O’Malley returned to the win column with a close decision over Song Yadong at UFC 324. He feels long due for a knockout against Zahabi.
“I need to go out there and finish this guy, simple as that,” O’Malley said. “(He’s) very tough, very durable. I think he’s had one career takedown attempt. This is going to be similar to the next fight (on the card), Alex vs. Ciryl Gane. This is going to be a kickboxing match with four-ounce gloves on. This is going to be a fun one. He comes forward, he eats shots. I move backwards, pop, pop, pop, give shots.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley: We got our hopes up too much for UFC Freedom 250 card
