Sean O’Malley believes he’s “a couple more fights” from title shot

With Henry Cejudo now retired, and removed from the rankings, and the UFC’s bantamweight title vacant and up for grabs, there is new opportunity for several fighters looking to become the new champion. One of those fighters, Sean O’Malley, believes he’s just a few fights away from becoming the new bantamweight champion.

O’Malley was recently a guest on The Luke Thomas Show on Sirius XM and discussed the changes inside the bantamweight division, Cejudo’s decision to retire, and why he’ll be the new bantamweight champion.

O’Malley wonders if Cejudo was scared or smart in his decision to walk away but believes “Triple C” will return when the former champion sees others competing for the title. O’Malley added that he believes he’s the guy who fans want to see as champion.

🔊@SugaSeanMMA discusses the current state at BW and explains why he's not far from a title shot despite a crowded contender scene in the weight class #TLTS👊@lthomasnews
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— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) May 26, 2020

“I don’t know whether he’s scared or smart,” O’Malley said of Cejudo. “He’s either smart retiring on top, kind of leaving at the top, or he’s not necessarily scared but he’s like ‘damn that’s a lot of tough fights in my division, I can just leave while I’m on top right now.’ I think he’ll be back. He’s in his prime. He’s going to see someone fight for the belt and I feel like he’s going to get that itch to come back.”

After Cejudo announced his intentions to retire after his win over Dominick Cruz, Dana White suggested a four-man tournament could be held to determine the next champion, but O’Malley doesn’t believe any of the rumored names stand out from one another.

“There’s four people they’re talking about for the bantamweight title, no one is really standing out, no one is really like ‘this is who we want to be our champ,'” O’Malley said. “I win a couple more fights, I’m that guy. I’m the guy that people are going to want to see the bantamweight champ. I’m that guy. I’m only a couple fights away from the title, if you look at the rankings, they don’t really matter…I think those top four dudes, Sterling, Yan, Cory [Sandhagen], Marlon [Moraes], those four dudes are killers, they’re high-level black belts in MMA but no one’s talking about them. No one is like ‘that’s the dude’, no one is that interesting.

“I’m that guy,” O’Malley added. “I’m the guy that’s going to knock these dudes out, get my title shot, and I’m going to be champ and it’s going to be people want to see me there. It’s going to be exciting.”

Sean O’Malley won’t deny he has a few more fights to win, and his next fight is scheduled against Eddie Wineland on June 6, but he believes when the opportunity arises, he’ll become the next bantamweight champion and that he’s the guy people want to see as the champion in the division.

Would you like to see Sean O’Malley as the bantamweight champion?