Is the UFC protecting Sean O’Malley?

Headlines were made this week when Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight golden child, Sean O’Malley was left without a UFC 264 opponent after scheduled foe Louis Smolka dropped out due to a staph infection. Several fighters, including ranked talent in the division, threw their names in the hat for a short-notice scrap with the rainbow-haired talent. However, the organization went with a promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho instead of an established name for O’Malley’s seventh appearance in the Octagon.

It was an underwhelming choice, considering the marketing effort the UFC has put behind the 26-year-old since his 2017 debut. So it begs the question: Is the UFC being risk-averse in “Sugar’s” matchmaking?

Booking for highlights over fun fights

When the news first came down that O’Malley was without a dance partner for July 10, some interesting options quickly became available. Fourteenth and tenth ranked bantamweights Cody Stamann and Merab Dvalishvili both told MMAJunkie they were willing to take the fight. Both would have been outstanding bookings on short notice and fairly matched bouts with legit division relevancy.

Granted, both fights likely would have taken place at catchweights, since both Stamann and Dvalishvili are sizable bantamweights. Meaning a short weight cut for O’Malley, as opposed to last-minute cuts for those men, surely would have been advantageous to the Arizona-based fighter. Instead, the UFC dug deep into their Rolodex of competitors outside the promotion and signed CES veteran Moutinho to replace Smolka.

Without a doubt, Moutinho was likely a preferred option from a willingness to make the drastic cut to the bantamweight limit on 10 days’ notice. And who could blame him, he gets every fighter’s sought-after Octagon opportunity, and a chance to shock the world against a popular competitor. But this fight does nothing for O’Malley outside the chance to add to his highlight reel, and a loss to Moutinho would do far more damage to his reputation than defeats to Stamann and Dvalishvili.

Throughout his run in the promotion, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum has been viewed as a competitor receiving a specially curated fight schedule. The promotion has not rushed O’Malley’s development, however, once he proved he was a special talent deserving of more serious competition, the organization seemed to skirt around such booking. As well as the ultimate test for any fast-rising striker, a skilled grappler.

Questions on Sean O’Malley: ‘How long can you just fight guys outside of the rankings’

In his interview with MMAJunkie, Stamann spoke to the matchmaking questions surrounding O’Malley and the lack of Octagon battle tested opposition.

“How long can you just fight guys outside of the rankings, guys on their way out before people start to realize that maybe you’re not a legit contender and that you’re just a guy that has a flashy style that people like to see,” Stamann said. “You’re a character outside the cage, but there’s no hiding when you get in there. It doesn’t really matter who you smoke weed with or how many followers you have on Instagram because when you get in the cage and fight somebody, that’s real. And fight somebody that’s competed against the best, it’s a different experience, and I learned it the hard way.

“I fought Bryan Caraway and Aljamain Sterling in my third and fourth fight in the UFC. I didn’t really get the UFC welcome that other guys like O’Malley did. I went right to the top, I went right into the rankings, and I fought nothing but killers ever since. I think that alone warrants me a fight against someone like O’Malley. Until he beats someone like me, he’s not legitimate in my eyes or in the eyes of any of the other athletes. That’s why there’s a whole line of guys begging for this fight.”

Dvalishvili has been calling for a fight with “Sugar” for several years, as he worked his way up the bantamweight ladder into a top-10 fighter. Like Stamann, he two wanted to be O’Malley’s legitimacy test. Even with a notable fight already scheduled for him with Marlon Moraes in September. As he told MMAJunkie Radio when the hunt for a replacement opponent was ongoing.

“Sure, I’m in here in Vegas training hard, and I always love to take fights,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve been mentioning Sean O’Malley’s name for three years already, so I would love to fight him. He’s a great fighter, and it makes me excited to fight him, so if he wants to fight with me, I’m ready.”

UFC squash booking 2021

No disrespect to Moutinho, but at 9-4, and having lost two of his last four bouts, this booking feels like a WWE-style squash match so O’Malley can add another face to his highlight reel. After seven fights inside the Octagon, and finishes over Alfred Khashakyan on DWCS, Eddie Wineland, and Thomas Almeida, is another over Moutinho going to improve the narrative? Especially, after being handed an L at UFC 252 against Marlon Vera, when he took a deeper swim in the competition waters in the weight class?

O’Malley already has the prerequisite wins over, as Stamann put it, “guys on their way out,” in Wineland and Almeida. Both are valuable names to have on a growing resume but both are a combined 1-8 since 2017. Including their knockout losses to Mr. “Sugar.” Removing him altogether from UFC 264 does not hurt that card. When you have Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier at the top you could have done an undercard of MMA media fighting each other and fans would have gladly still paid US $69.99 to watch.

Yet, instead of just rebooking O’Malley versus Smolka–a man that has split his last four fights–or pairing him with the step-up in talent that he needs and rightfully deserves, the promotion has placed him in a main card fight unbecoming of his talent and fanbase. When that happens, it’s hard to not believe the promotion is protecting him, or lack confidence that he can beat top talent right now without optimal training time. As if they are protecting a valuable commodity and don’t want to push a bunch of the rainbow-colored chips to the center of the table and risk losing them all.

A case could also be made that O’Malley is protecting himself, and pushed for next week’s fight rather than a risky booking against men like Stamann and Dvalishvili. Either way, it’s not a good look for him. Especially, after publicly talking future fights with former division king Petr Yan.

When reached for comment, Stamann told MixedMartialArts.com he believes the promotion does protect him. However, while he understood the strategy, he feels the booking still brings the same questions about the youngster’s legitimacy in the division.

“The UFC definitely looks out for O’Malley, but they should,” Stamann said. “Kids a huge draw and he does some cool sh*t in the cage. I just don’t think he’s top-15 material yet, which is why I’ve begged to fight him.“

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