Sean O’Malley is talking about fights involving two of boxing’s famous fighters in a crossover bout with a legitimate twist.
When it comes to crossover fights, MMA fighters traditionally talk about bouts that adhere to boxing rulesets â typically because such contests command a greater share of the total money generated for those who participate in it.
We’ve seen it with Conor McGregor when he took on Floyd Mayweather in 2017, Nate Diaz with Jake Paul in 2023, and, of course, Francis Ngannou against Tyson Fury also last year.
As reigning UFC bantamweight champion O’Malley’s star power continues to rise, so too do headlines relating to him.
Even Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, two 140-pound fighters in boxing, have been talking about O’Malley during the build-up to their blockbuster bout April 20 in New York City.
Garcia, for starters, vowed to destroy O’Malley if they ever threw down.
“Iâll beat his ass in MMA guaranteed,” Garcia said during an appearance Monday on The MMA Hour, via MMA Fighting. “Iâm a natural, you donât understand. Iâm a natural wrestler.”
But, unlike the situations with McGregor, Diaz, and Ngannou, Garcia said he has no intention of luring O’Malley into a boxing ring as he’d happily fight him in the UFC’s Octagon.
“I know Iâm going to knock him out in boxing, thatâs not even fair,” said Garcia. “What is fair is to test myself in MMA.”
Garcia said he’d enlist Diaz and “even Alex Pereira” to help him prepare for O’Malley.
“He will not beat him,” Garcia said. “I will come with everything I have and I will destroy Sean OâMalley. In the UFC.”
Haney Shrugged Off Garcia’s Call-Out of O’Malley
The match between Garcia and Haney, which tops a Golden Boy Promotions boxing card, pits two of that sport’s most well-known names against one another.
Garcia has been seen on video with creators like Jake Paul, and saw his own fame catapult when he fought Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in Las Vegas, last year, losing by knockout.
Haney, meanwhile, is steadily building one of boxing’s best records as he’s swatted aside George Kambosos Jr., Vasiliy Lomachenko, and Regis Prograis in recent fights.
Rather than build a resume like Haney, Garcia seems to want box office smashing contests â in boxing, or in MMA.
Haney, though, appears to have said words similar in vein to “good luck with that.”
On The MMA Hour, via MMA Fighting, host Ariel Helwani asked Haney if Garcia had a shot at beating O’Malley. “[Expletive] no,” he replied.
Elaborating, Haney said: “Sean is MMA; that’s where he’s dominating. Ryan is dominating in boxing.”
O’Malley Would Happily Fight Them Both on The Same Night, he Said
O’Malley, the UFC’s bantamweight champion with wins over Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling in recent years, is unconcerned about the prospect of competing against Garcia and Haney in MMA.
He even said he’d fight them both on the same night.
“I don’t need to [expletive] take him down to ⦠I mean, I could take him down to choke him, but I’d kick him in the [expletive] body, I’d kick his little sticks, I would do whatever the [expletive] I wanted to,” O’Malley said regarding a Garcia bout, according to Happy Punch.
GettyBoxer Ryan Garcia
“I could do box him with MMA gloves â it’s a different sport with those little MMA gloves; the distance is different,” added O’Malley.
“I could beat him and Devin Haney on the same night.”
O’Malley can’t entertain a fight against a boxer as he must first overcome Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera â the only fighter to ever beat him â in their UFC 299 headliner on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
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