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UFC bantamweight Brian Kelleher called out Sean O’Malley following his dominant victory over Domingo Pilarte at UFC Vegas 34, offering to give “Sugar” the unranked opponent he’s after.
Kelleher, who has fought twelve times since making his promotional debut in 2017, made his second appearance of this year during this past weekend’s prelims. Pilarte, meanwhile, entered the cage for the first time since last February.
After defeats to Cody Stamann and Ricky Simón interrupted solid victories over Hunter Azure and Ray Rodriguez, “Boom” was looking to rebound in style and begin a more consistent run of wins. After three rounds of comfortable control, the 35-year-old had done exactly that.
Looking to continue his trend of remaining as active as possible, Kelleher wasted no time in calling out a big name for his next fight. During his post-fight interview inside the Octagon, the New York native set his sights on Sean O’Malley.
After taking shots at “Sugar” for hanging out with rapper 6ix9ine, and for getting a tattoo dedicated to the controversial figure, Kelleher staked his claim to be the unranked opponent O’Malley wants to face.
“O’Malley, stop it with the 6ix9ine tattoos. What kind of guys you hangin’ out with? You should have got a tattoo of a vagina. You know you don’t want to fight any ranked guys, so here I am. Business is booming.” (h/t Sportskeeda)
Kelleher’s comments come after O’Malley revealed his desire to continue fighting unranked opponents in the UFC despite his rising stardom. The 26-year-old explained that he’d get paid the same to face someone outside of the top 15 as he would to face a top five name.
O’Malley was last in action at UFC 264 last month. After the withdrawal of Louis Smolka, “Sugar” faced promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho. Despite an incredible display of toughness from the debutant, he was finally stopped with less than 30 seconds of the main card opener remaining.
Despite perhaps not finding the highlight reel finish he’d been after, O’Malley put in an impressive performance on the feet that saw him break the record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC bantamweight fight. He’ll be looking to continue his rise to the top when he makes his next walk to the Octagon.
Would you like to see Sean O’Malley face Brian Kelleher next?