Sean O’Malley, the rising star in the UFC, is still on the road to recovery from his recent injuries. Despite this, he’s set his sights on a headline matchup at UFC 296 with none other than the notorious Conor McGregor.
Speaking on his podcast, O’Malley expressed his enthusiasm for the potential bout, highlighting the massive pay-per-view draw it could be. “I think it would be massive, me and Conor on a pay-per-view,” O’Malley said. “But also, I could do my own pay-per-view and Conor could do his own PPV, and mine wouldn’t be as big yet. But I could do one of the biggest PPVs in the UFC right now.”
Interestingly, O’Malley’s last title-winning fight against Aljamain Sterling drew significant attention. While former two-division champion Henry Cejudo claimed it garnered between 300,000 and 350,000 buys for UFC 292, these numbers remain unverified, as PPV figures are not publicly disclosed. O’Malley himself dismissed these numbers and even took a jab at Cejudo on Twitter.
Currently, O’Malley is preparing for a meeting with UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby in Las Vegas. Although this gathering may seem like a business meeting, O’Malley mentioned it’s more of a personal one. “I still haven’t heard anything about pay-per-view numbers for the Aljo/Suga Sean fight,” he stated. “Maybe I’ll hear about that from the UFC and see what they say. I haven’t heard any numbers get released. … If it did like [750,000], I’d be like, ‘Damn, that’s pretty f****** sweet for headlining my first PPV.'”
While McGregor recently hinted at a fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 296, O’Malley remains open to the possibility of sharing the spotlight with the Irish superstar. However, he acknowledged that such a scenario would be costly for the promotion, as both headliners would demand a share of the revenue.
In the meantime, O’Malley is still recovering from a rib injury sustained before his victory over Sterling. He also disclosed a recent diagnosis of “turf foot,” an injury he incurred while sparring. Although he doesn’t expect to secure his next fight this week, he’s excited about mapping out his future as a champion.
“I’m going to Vegas tomorrow morning,” he shared. “I’m going to sit down with [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter [Campbell], who has been handling most of these fights with me. He’s in Paris, [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby and Dana are in Vegas, so I’m going to have a few meetings with them and just kind of see what’s next. It’s going to be exciting.”
As O’Malley’s journey to recovery continues, the potential showdown with McGregor at UFC 296 remains a tantalizing prospect for MMA fans worldwide.
