UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has been given permission by UFC bosses to box Ryan Garcia, provided the match would generate enough revenue, following Garcia’s recent comments that he could “destroy” O’Malley in an MMA rules contest.
Sean O’Malley, the reigning UFC bantamweight champ, isn’t stepping into the boxing ring. Not yet, anyway.
Recently, he caught the attention of boxing sensation, Ryan Garcia. During an episode of The MMA Hour, Garcia boasted that he could “destroy” O’Malley in an MMA rules match. Garcia’s fame skyrocketed after his recent victory over WBC super lightweight champion, Devin Haney. The title wasn’t at stake, though, since Garcia was over the weight limit by 3.2 pounds.
A crossover match between O’Malley and Garcia? That’d be a crowd-pleaser. According to O’Malley, his UFC bosses are on board, as long as they get a hefty slice of the profits. “They told me you can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money,” O’Malley revealed on his TimboSugarShow podcast.
But there’s a catch. “Ryan being a freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a Floyd-Conor fight,” he added.
Remember when UFC let its biggest pay-per-view draw, Conor McGregor, box against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather in August 2017? That turned out to be a smart move. The event was a massive success, raking in profits for everyone involved in its promotion.
That’s the kind of money O’Malley wants to see. Fresh off his first UFC title defense—a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera—he’s one of the most talked-about fighters. But he feels he needs to do more to build his name. “I’m not there yet,” O’Malley admitted. “I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more sick performances and then we’re talking about being able to do whatever we want.”
Both O’Malley and Garcia are pros at making headlines, not just for their fight night performances. Garcia, in particular, stirred up a buzz with his strange social media rants before his fight with Haney.
O’Malley sees these antics as part of the game. He’s curious about Garcia’s next move now that his win is in the books. “I think he’s that crazy, he’s that good too,” O’Malley said. “He probably trained hard. Some people have different genes. I couldn’t do it. … He’s going to make his money. Let’s see where he goes in the next two weeks.”
After such a big win, surrounded by questionable influences, O’Malley wonders about Garcia’s mental state. “Winning that big of a fight, making that much more money, having those shitty people around you, let’s see where he’s at mentally in two weeks.”
As for Garcia, he seems open to welcoming O’Malley into the boxing world. He posted some responses to O’Malley on social media.
“RAINBOW CACA BRAIN,” he wrote. “WANTS TO BOX. BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW.”
Another post read, “MAN BUN. Slash Connor Clone. Wants a boxing match hmmm I wanted MMA but let’s do it. That’s my brothers name bitch @lilrushgee now I have to destroy you, LIL PONY CANNOT DEFEAT ME.”