UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley will look to avenge the lone loss of his MMA career when he takes on Marlon Vera in a rematch to headline UFC 299.
As O’Malley prepares to enter the cage, he’s still entertaining the idea of crossing over into the boxing ring.
In recent months the 29-year-old slugger nicknamed “Suga” has traded barbs with the likes of Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, and Ryan Garcia.
Over the last week, Garcia took the trash talk a step further and said he’d knock out O’Malley in an MMA fight.
For a crossover clash to even be considered O’Malley must first get the blessing of the UFC, similar to how Conor McGregor did when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.
In an interview with BoxingScene.com, O’Malley said a potential boxing match shouldn’t be a problem as long as it makes business sense.
“I planted the seed a while back. If they continue to grow, and I continue to do what I do in this sport, we can have a big fight,” said O’Malley. “I’m in this business for pure entertainment and money. If the fans want to see a big crossover, it’s really about what the fans want. I like to have a lot of options for the people and a lot of options for myself.
“[The UFC and UFC CEO Dana White] don’t love it, but they do say if it generates revenue and makes a lot of money, they’re not going to say no. But for that to make a lot of money, guys like Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis have to continue to build themselves as superstars, as do I. I’m not in a position right now. Could we do a crossover fight to be big? Yeah. But we don’t want for it to be big – we want for it to be huge. Both sides have a lot of work to do.”
O’Malley is confident in his boxing skills because he’s proven to be a prolific puncher who packs power in both hands – 12 of his 17 MMA wins have come via KO.
O’Malley also commented on Garcia’s recent run of erratic antics during the buildup of his April 20 showdown against Haney.
“He’s a young kid and made a lot of money. Getting popular and famous at a young age is dangerous,” said O’Malley.
“Money, fame, it goes to your head. Seems like he doesn’t have good people around him. You need good people around you to stay focused to be able to continue to rise. Not that he can’t do it, maybe he’s going through a little phase.”
O’Malley (17-1; 1 NC) versus Vera (21-8-1) takes place Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
O’Malley will be defending his bantamweight title for the first time since scoring a second-round stoppage against Aljamain Sterling in August.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.