UFC 264: Sean O’Malley eyes title run once he beats late call-up Kris Moutinho
- American bantamweight plans on welcoming Moutinho to the big show with a KO
- ‘I‘m the most popular guy in the division … when I get the belt, I definitely will be the most popular guy in UFC,’ says O’Malley
Sean O’Malley says he’s happy to welcome Kris Moutinho to “The Sugar Show” at UFC 264 on Saturday night in Las Vegas but he thinks there’s only one way this bantamweight bout is going to end.
“He comes at me, he gets knocked out, or he wants to dance around the outside, he gets knocked out. It really doesn‘t matter,” O’Malley told SCMP MMA. “He gets to pick how he wants to get knocked out, coming forward or going backwards.”
The 28-year-old Moutinho (9-4) is a late replacement for fellow American Louis Smolka (17-7), who last week was downed by a staph infection O’Malley (13-1) has been vocal in questioning.
It was a booking that came as somewhat of a surprise, given how little is known about Moutinho before his UFC debut, and given the fact a clash against Smolka was supposed to help raise the profile of the wildly popular O’Malley even further.
The 26-year-old from Montana freely admits he knows little about what to expect, outside what he thinks the result will be.