Just after his inaugural UFC championship win, Sean O’Malley expressed interest in crossing over to boxing to potentially face undefeated Gervonta Davis.
Sean O’Malley recently won his first UFC title, but his ambitions stretch beyond the MMA world. The newly-minted UFC champion is setting his sights on a fresh challenge – a boxing match with another reigning champion. After a stunning second-round knockout of Aljamain Sterling in Boston to secure the bantamweight title, O’Malley not only dominates one of MMA’s deepest divisions, but also eyes potential matches with formidable contenders like Marlon Vera, Cory Sandhagen, Merab Dvalishvili, or Umar Nurmagomedov.
The idea of a rematch with Vera intrigued O’Malley but he admitted that his preference would be to step into the boxing world and face undefeated Gervont Davis. With an almost dismissive attitude, O’Malley said, “Just the way [Vera] acts, he’s so annoying. He’s not funny, he tries to be. He’s so ugly. He dresses like an idiot. That could be it.” There was no dismissal, however, of his intention to fight Gervont Davis, with O’Malley stating, “I wouldn’t mind knocking out Gervonta Davis, and I know people are going to go, ‘Ooh, you’re a wannabe Conor.’ I’m telling you, that fight is going to happen.”
O’Malley and Vera had previously faced off three years ago at UFC 252, wherein the latter won via TKO in the first round with ground strikes. O’Malley dispelled the validity of Vera’s win, claiming it was due to a leg injury he sustained during the fight. If O’Malley manages to set up an MMA vs. Boxing clash with Davis, he would travel a road already taken by Conor McGregor, who had a high-profile boxing match in August 2017 against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Upon the prospect of that crossover, O’Malley said, “I feel like it could happen sooner than later. I said [winning the UFC title] was going to happen years ago, and I got so much hate and shit for it, but look at me now.” O’Malley’s characteristic challenge-craving attitude was apparent when he acknowledged that Gervonta Davis, though undefeated in boxing, poses an interesting test. He concluded, “There’s no stars in the bantamweight division. Gervonta, you can consider him almost a star, and that’s what gets me excited. Me vs. Gervonta would be f****** massive.”