Sean O'Malley has weighed in on Mario Bautista’s surge into the UFC bantamweight title picture after Bautista’s win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329.
O'Malley and Bautista are former teammates who trained together at The MMA Lab in Arizona, and both are now chasing the UFC bantamweight title. Bautista, 18-3 in MMA and 12-3 in the UFC, defeated Sandhagen on the main card in what O’Malley described as a hard fight to win on the scorecards.
"It was beautiful," O'Malley said of Bautista’s performance. He added, "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."
Bautista’s victory extended his run to two straight wins since his October loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, making him 10-1 in his past 11 UFC bouts.
O’Malley, a former UFC bantamweight champion with a 20-3 MMA record and 12-3 in the UFC, acknowledged the complications of a potential clash with his ex-teammate. "I know, I know, it's tricky. It's weird," he said, later adding, "Yeah, I don't know. We'll have to cross that path when it comes. Look at Terrance (McKinney) and Bobby (Green)."
