“I’m bigger than the belt!” Sean O’Malley believes he’s closer to reaching Conor McGregor levels of superstardom

Sean O'Malley shares his opinion about reaching the star level of Conor McGregor.

“I’m bigger than the belt!” Sean O’Malley believes he’s closer to reaching Conor McGregor levels of superstardom

Sean O'Malley believes he's reaching Conor McGregor's level of stardom (via Imago)

Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest UFC superstars in the absence of Conor McGregor. Recently, he defended his bantamweight title against rival Marlon Vera at UFC 299. The event was a massive success and ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing live gate in UFC history. It was just one of the few fight cards that didn’t feature McGregor and made the highest-grossing list. As such, ‘Suga’ felt he neared the stardom level of the Irishman.

In the post-fight press conference, Sean O’Malley stated he was nearing the stardom levels of Conor McGregor. As such, Suga stated he was bigger than titles and he would fight at any weight class like Conor McGregor did. Here is what he said:

Yeah, I think I'm creeping up there (Conor McGregor's level of stardom). I’m working my way up to one of the biggest names in the sport...I'm going to get to a point where I don't even need the belt! I'm bigger than the belt. I'm going to main event at 140lbs, 142 1/2 just for fu****g fun. The belt's cool, once you get to a certain point you can main event and just kind of fight. Look, Conor was 145 champ fighting at 170, fighting Nate. I want to get there.
Sean O’Malley (via UFC 299 Post Fight Press Conference)
YouTube video

Conor McGregor rose through the ranks of the UFC and attained the featherweight title. Simultaneously, he grew up to become the biggest star the MMA world had ever seen. As such, the Irishman had the freedom to make choices and fight anyone he wanted. Just like that, he bounced up two weight classes to fight Nate Diaz twice, which gave the MMA world a classic rivalry to remember.

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As such, Sean O’Malley wanted to reach the same level of stardom and freedom instead of the UFC title restricting him to a certain weight class. Sean O’Malley has gained massive popularity over the years. Plus, he backed his talk with his performances, which only aided his levels of stardom. Considering the youth of Suga, only the sky is the limit.

Dana White shares his opinion about Sean O’Malley’s stardom

Sean O’Malley rose his stock to another level with his flawless striking clinic against Malon Vera at UFC 299. Despite being the favorite, the way he beat Vera surprised everyone. He pushed the pace and battered ‘Chito’ for the whole five rounds.

The PPV event also became a massive success, and O’Malley’s headlining gave him the credit. As such, Dana White shared his opinion about the event and the bantamweight champion’s stardom.

Dana White shares his opinion about Sean O'Malley's stardom at the UFC 299 pressers
Dana White shares his opinion about Sean O’Malley’s stardom at the UFC 299 pressers (via Sports Illustrated/Yahoo Sports)

Dana White joined the press conference after UFC 299 fights and stated the event broke the arena’s record for highest-grossing events. Also, he announced this PPV was the fourth highest-grossing live gate in UFC history. As such, he credited Sean O’Malley and addressed him as the biggest star in bantamweight history. Further, he acknowledged ‘Suga’ was on his way to reaching Conor McGregor’s levels of stardom.

While Dana White credited Sean O’Malley for the success of UFC 299, contradicting opinions prevailed on the internet. Many voiced out the event’s success to the stacked names the fight card featured like Dustin Poirier, Petr Yan, and more. However, the bantamweight champion’s performance kind of overshadowed their opinion. In fact, proved he was on his way to becoming the biggest name in MMA.

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