Chael Sonnen discusses potential Sean O’Malley vs. Cody Garbrandt matchup

By Harry Kettle - June 11, 2020

Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on a potential showdown between bantamweight contenders Cody Garbrandt and Sean O’Malley.

Chael Sonnen, Jon Jones

This past weekend at UFC 250, Garbrandt and O’Malley put the rest of the division on notice with spectacular knockouts over Raphael Assuncao and Eddie Wineland respectively. Ever since then, fans have been curious as to what the next move will be for either fighter.

With “Suga” hinting that he wants to square off with “No Love” in the future, the always fascinating Sonnen decided to let the world know what he thought on the matter.

“Did you guys see that Sean O’Malley called out Cody Garbrandt?” Sonnen said. “Now, I like that for a plethora of reasons – number one, Sean O’Malley is very on brand. As a matter of fact, he told Cody that he was getting better. He complimented Cody. When a younger guy compliments an older guy, in any walk of society, there’s something condescending about it, but guys, it’s a call out. It can’t all just be moonlight and canoes — there has to be a dig. That was one of the digs. He let Cody know.

“I’d love to see that match,” Sonnen continued. “For many reasons, I’d love to see that match. I think that’s going to be possibly a hard one for O’Malley to get if you were to just go by the rankings. I’ve never bought into the idea fully, perhaps I should, that the winner of Aljo [Sterling] and Sandhagen would be the one to fight the winner of Aldo and Yan. The only reason I didn’t buy into it is because on that same card, you had the same weight class with Cody vs Assuncao — only that was two matches later! You don’t put your feature match earlier.”

Sonnen went on to claim that it was a smart move on O’Malley’s part as everyone knows how quickly Garbrandt can get “p***ed off”.

Some will argue that it’s far too soon for O’Malley to be taking such a big step up in competition, whereas others believe it’s time to strike while the iron is hot.

There are so many great fights out there in the top 15 for both men, and the idea that they could cross paths one day is enough to get anyone excited.

What do you think of these comments from Chael Sonnen?


Topics:

Chael Sonnen Cody Garbrandt Sean O'Malley UFC UFC 250