Sean O’Malley understands why Aiemann Zahabi would make bold claims before their UFC Freedom 250 showdown, but he won’t get distracted by them.
In advance of the key bantamweight matchup on June 14 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Paramount+), surging contender Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) emphatically stated he has “better striking” than ex-champ O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who has made his name off highlight-reel knockouts.
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O’Malley said he respects Zahabi for speaking out in such a confident manner, but he sees it as an obvious attempt at misdirection.
“I appreciate the, ‘Hey, look over here.’ He knows his way to victory is going to be to try to grapple me,” O’Malley told MMA Junkie. “I’m not stupid. He’s not stupid. He’s saying these things to get us to be like, ‘Oh, he’s not going to wrestle.’ But come on, man. I’m not stupid. I may look stupid, but yeah.”
Although O’Malley was initially pushing to get a rematch with current UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, the fight he was offered was against Zahabi, who has rattled off seven consecutive victories to get to this spot.
O’Malley understands the motivation and understanding of the moment his opponent will have, and he’s not going to overlook that.
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“He’s on a seven-fight winning streak. At what point do you give him a big fight? This is the point,” O’Malley said. “This is the biggest fight of his life. In a sense it’s the biggest fight of my life, too. I guess the next one always is. I don’t look at him as an Aljo (Sterling) or a Petr Yan or a Merab. I don’t think there’s levels to this game – I know there’s a levels to this game and I believe I’m on a different level.
“I’m a level above Aiemann, and I get to go out there and prove it. Do I think he’s deserving? Absolutely. Do I think he’s very, very skilled and tough? To go on a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC, you have to be.”
Zahabi will enter the octagon at UFC Freedom 250 with UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre as part of his corner team. O’Malley loves that, because it gives him a chance to show his best in front of one of the game’s all-time best.
“GSP’s a legend,” O’Malley said. “I really respect not just what he’s done in the sport, but just kind of how he lives his life outside of the sport and who he is as a person. It’ll be cool to be in his presence. He’s one of those rare guys amongst rare guys. It’ll be cool. It’ll be nice to shake his hand and say, ‘Hey, sorry. I just the f*ck out of your guy. Nice to meet you.'”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC White House: ‘Not stupid’ Sean O’Malley laughs at Zahabi’s claims
