Sean O’Malley is backing Conor McGregor in a big way ahead of the Irish star’s welterweight rematch with Max Holloway in the UFC 329 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the UFC bantamweight champion broke down the matchup and said he does not expect McGregor to look rusty despite a five-year layoff. O’Malley believes McGregor will be at his most dangerous early against Holloway and is even calling for a lightning-fast finish.
"I think if Conor gets it done, he's going to get it done in the first round, second round maybe," O’Malley said, before ultimately going even bolder: "With all that being said, I've got Conor McGregor, Round 1, 12-second KO,". At the same time, he acknowledged Holloway’s chances: "If not, it's probably going to be a Max Holloway masterpiece. Conor's been out for five years. It's a long time to be out. Those five years, he wasn't sleeping eight hours a night f*cking drinking smoothies. The dude was having a hell of a time, and that could play a role on you."
O’Malley summed up his internal debate simply: "My heart's telling me Conor McGregor," but added, "My mind's telling me Max Holloway goes in there, maybe gets cracked early, but at 170, I don't know if he's going to be able to get put away." He also pointed to Holloway being dropped in past fights against Dustin Poirier and Ilia Topuria as part of his reasoning.
