Sean O’Malley isn’t so sure what would happen if the UFC brass offers him a bout with ex-teammate Mario Bautista.
O’Malley was in his home watching the UFC 329 broadcast live. While Conor McGregor’s injury was the top story coming out of the show, there were major implications with one bout in O’Malley’s division. In a pivotal bantamweight clash, Bautista earned a unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen.
The “Suga” show praised Bautista’s performance, and said the decision was well deserved in a reaction video on his YouTube page (via MMAJunkie).
“It was beautiful,” O’Malley said. “I said, ‘Alright, Cory. Here’s your shot. You called me out. Go out there and beat Mario and you get your shot at the ‘Suga’ show.’ He didn’t (win). I picked Mario by decision. I know how good Mario is. I know how good Cory is. It was an interesting fight. It was going to be hard to beat Cory in a decision, and Mario went out there, and it was back and forth. Mario definitely won that fight.”
Now the question becomes, do O’Malley and Bautista set aside their friendship to compete in a high stakes 135-pound clash with possible title implications? O’Malley doesn’t want to commit to an answer just yet.
“I know, I know, it’s tricky. It’s weird,” O’Malley said. “Yeah, I don’t know. We’ll have to cross that path when it comes. Look at Terrance (McKinney) and Bobby (Green).”
The aforementioned Green vs. McKinney fight also took place on the UFC 329 card. Both men are friends, but Green took exception to the fact that McKinney accepted a bout between them. Green scored the TKO finish in a fun bout, and both men ultimately squashed the issue.
Is Sean O’Malley vs. Mario Bautista the bout to make next? Do you think both men will put their friendship on the back burner for fight night? Sound off in the comments below.
