“McGregor Wannabe” – Petr Yan feels his fight with “UFC Project” Sean O’Malley is nowhere near the climatic McGregor-Aldo clash
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O'Malley has been compared to McGregor on his way to Aldo ahead of his fight against Yan
Petr Yan is not a fan of comparing his bout against Sean O’Malley to that of Jose Aldo’s clash against Conor McGregor. The comparison was first made by UFC President Dana White, something Yan is staunchly against.
Yan and O’Malley will feature in the final non-title bout at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. A huge step in competition for the American, the fight is a high-risk, low-reward affair for Yan. During the UFC 280 Media day scrum, he detailed how he really feels about his opponent more or less calling him an industry plant.
“Considering, the PR side of things, you can definitely compare it to the Conor-Aldo fight, and Sean is a UFC Project”, said Yan as he promised that the result of their fight would be different. Yan who is currently the number 1 ranked fighter in the division and a former champion, will be going up against the #11 ranked prospect.
Emphasizing how the bout between him and O’Malley was nowhere near the realm of the Aldo-McGregor, he said, “You saw my fight with Aldo”, referring to how he won the vacant title against the Brazilian back at the inaugural Fight Island Event. The fight between Aldo and Yan is particularly remembered for the brutal cuts that the King Of Rio suffered and the extremely late stoppage of the fight.
How Accurate is the Comparison between Petr Yan’s bout against Sean O’Malley to the Aldo-McGregor clash?
O’Malley has often been compared to McGregor since his rise up the UFC ladder. This is heavily due to his striking heavy style, along with his Irish Heritage and similar-looking bodywork. In fact, McGregor has even acknowledged this comparison claiming, his striking was “slick” like the double champ himself.
However statistically, the two fights are nowhere near the realm of comparison. Unlike McGregor who approached Aldo having run through the division with no losses, O’Malley is yet to prove himself against a ranked opponent.
His only fight against a ranked opponent, Pedro Munhoz ended in a no-contest when O’Malley accidentally poked Munhoz’s eye. Even prior to Munhoz, O’Malley already has a loss in his UFC record.
This was against, current world #5 at bantamweight, Chito Vera. O’Malley is still adamant that he never lost the bout, crediting it to a freak accident and not a knockout.
Yan is an equally accomplished striker as O’Malley if not vastly more experienced, how do you see the bout between the two turning out this weekend? Do you agree with Dana White’s comparison? Let us know!
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)