Sean O’Malley is picking Yair Rodriguez to upset Alexander Volkanovski in their featherweight title unification bout at UFC 290.
Bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley is not sleeping on Yair Rodriguez as he faces featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 290 co-main event on July 8 in Las Vegas. Looking at the title unification bout, O’Malley believes that Rodriguez has what it takes to upset Volkanovski. Although the featherweight champion is ranked as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet just behind Jon Jones, O’Malley is picking the upset.
“Yair and Volk, for the title. The featherweight championship belt on the line. That’s champ versus champ, interim versus the motherf**king motherf**er,” O’Malley said in his YouTube channel. “I’ve heard a lot of people think Volk’s going to run through Yair. I don’t think that’s the case. Yair is so dangerous because I know that style because I have a similar style-ish.”
While O’Malley admits that Volk is pound-for-pound the best in the world right now, he believes that Rodriguez will be a tough opponent for the featherweight champion. “He’s going to be hard to just dominate. He’s going to be very hard to dominate. He whips those knees, kicks, and elbows that’ll slice you open. That’s an interesting fight.” O’Malley stated. He then went on to say, “I might be taking Yair. Right off the top, yeah.”
O’Malley’s opinion has garnered attention from MMA enthusiasts who cannot wait to see if he was right. Time will tell if Yair Rodriguez can defeat Alexander Volkanovski and become the undisputed featherweight champion, and UFC fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for the outcome of the fight.