“He’s a bad boy too,” UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley receives admiration from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O'Neal praised UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley.


“He’s a bad boy too,” UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley receives admiration from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O'Neal on Sean O'Malley (Image via X/Imago)

Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal recently appreciated Sean O’Malley on the ‘Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry’ podcast. O’Malley has been on a winning streak since 2021 and O’Neal has been keenly observing the bantamweight champion.

Kamaru Usman asked Shaq if he had been following the sport of MMA and UFC. Shaq responded in the affirmative and began listing some of the fighters he had been paying attention to.

Old boy from Phoenix. Is he from Phoenix or Scotland? Is he American? Oh he's American, I thought he was from... yeah he's a bad boy too.
Shaquille O’Neal via Pound 4 Pound

O’Malley picked up the bantamweight title from Aljamain Sterling in an exciting matchup at UFC 292. The fight barely lasted two rounds as O’Malley knocked down the former champion with three title defenses. Suga then avenged his only career loss against Marlon Vera at UFC 299. The fight went the distance and the champ won the fight via unanimous decision.

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He is now eyeing two different matchups in two different sports. O’Malley will make his second title defense against Merab Dvalishvili, although nothing has been made official. Meanwhile, he also plans to step into boxing against 25-1 boxer Ryan Garcia, who has won 20 of his fights by knockout.

When will Sean O’Malley fight Merab Dvalishvili?

Merab Dvalishvili has been pushing for a fight with O’Malley for a while now. Suga finally acknowledged the challenge and they are supposed to fight this year. Merab is ready but why has O’Malley not confirmed a matchup yet?

Sean O'Malley's gameplan to fight Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O’Malley’s gameplan to fight Merab Dvalishvili (via Imago)

Sean O’Malley has addressed this on his TimboSugarShow podcast. O’Malley revealed that he does not want to fight Dvalishvili out of America.

I’m trying to book it. I’m trying to get it booked ASAP. The only issue is that some of the next pay-per-views aren’t in the country, and I’m not fighting out of the country – not necessarily because I don’t want to. I don’t want to, but, they have other people that take other places. But I’m ready to go. I’m f*cking wanting to book a fight ASAP.
Sean O’Malley on his TimboSugarShow podcast

The next few matchups on the card are in Brazil and the UK. According to O’Malley’s description, they may set up a fight at International Fight Week or the upcoming event at The Sphere. Regardless of when they fight, this matchup between O’Malley and Dvalishvili is set to be an exciting showdown in the octagon.

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