There was a lot of complaining when Sean O’Malley, who was ranked 12th at bantamweight at the time, was given a bout against No. 1-ranked Petr Yan on the main card of UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The man known as “The Suga Show” pulled out a gritty, gutty and bloody split decision over Yan, the former champion in a Fight of the Night type of battle. Judges had it 29-28 for O’Malley and 29-28 for Yan.
O’Malley struggled to stay on his feet, but when he was standing, he did just enough to pull out the win. He knew it was a career-defining gut check victory.
“It’s the craziest f***ing sport in the world,” O’Malley said. “I had to go somewhere I’ve never been before.”
Even Miesha Tate took to Twitter and made it clear she loved the Sean O’Malley fight.
What a WAR!!!! Amazing fight between @SugaSeanMMA & @PetrYanUFC #ufc280
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 22, 2022
