The Takedown | UFC 260: Sean O’Malley hype train firmly back on the rails as Dana White praises ‘masterpiece’
- ‘O’Malley’s first-round hiccup against Thomas Almeida nearly costs him the finish he needed to back up his talk
- But brash American bantamweight shows ability to stay calm and make adjustments when things don’t go as planned
Sean O’Malley (13-1) needed an impressive win at UFC 260, and he got it. In fact, he nearly got it twice.
The American bantamweight returned to action opposite Brazil’s Thomas Almeida, his first fight since a TKO loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 252 last August, which came after he sustained a leg injury in the early going.
“The way I lost that last fight, it wasn’t because [Vera] was a better fighter, [or] he was more skilled,” O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “He didn’t take me down. My leg completely gave out, and I landed on my back. In my mind, [I’m] 12-0.”
Given the way the 26-year-old had been talking, he was under immense pressure to perform at UFC 260 – to not only win, but win impressively.
He nearly did just that in round one.
After landing some nice punches at range, O’Malley nearly decapitated Almeida with a high kick, then threw a clean left that dropped him. He was likely one or two more clean impacts away from finishing the fight, but instead reeled in his assault and threw his hands up in the air in victory.