O'Malley puts rivalry aside and praises champion Pantoja

Last Saturday (7), in Las Vegas (USA), Alexandre Pantoja impressed in action in the octagon. In the main fight of UFC 310, the Brazilian submitted newcomer Kai Asakura in the second round, thus defending the flyweight (57 kg) belt for the third time. Combat sports fan, Sean O'Malley He watched the veteran's triumph and, impressed, even put his rivalry aside.

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On his official 'YouTube' channel, the former bantamweight champion (61 kg) showed fair play and made a point of praising Pantoja. And O'Malley's reaction was not exaggerated, as the Brazilian was so dominant in the octagon that he took home one of the 'Performance of the Night' bonuses. The curiosity is that, previously, athletes exchanged provocations constantly and publicly.

In the past, the fighters trained and 'Sugar' shared an excerpt in which he had an advantage over the Brazilian and even boasted. Irritated, Pantoja disapproved of the American's stance, stated that he submitted him in the same training, asked him to release the complete recording and challenged him to a settling of scores in the bantamweight division. But, despite the rivalry, O'Malley recognized the athlete's value.

“Pantoja is doing his job. It's like no one in the crowd seems to care. It's weird, it doesn't seem like a big moment, but it should be a big moment. I'm not hating. That was an incredible performance from Pantoja. He's a good black belt. He threw enough strikes, landed some good takedowns. He attacks sloppily, but it has worked so far”, declared the athlete.

O'Malley's MMA Record

Sean O'Malley, 30, is one of the most popular fighters in MMA and is a former UFC bantamweight champion. The American began his career in MMA in 2015, was revealed on the Contender Series program and debuted in the company in 2017. In the sport, 'Sugar' built a record consisting of 18 wins, two losses and one 'no contest' (no result). His main triumphs were over Aljamain Sterling. Marlon Vera and Petr Yan.