Sean O’Malley never hides the fact that he respects Conor McGregor as one of the fighters who want to model his career, but the two UFC superstars went through a rough patch that long ago.
It all began with McGregor mentioning O’Malley along with boxer Ryan Garcia. O’Malley and McGregor ended up exchanging some nasty messages through interviews and social media, but it appears they have eventually crushed the beef between them.
In the lead-up to his rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316, O’Malley saw many fights for inspiration from 2016, including a rematch with Nate Diaz. McGregor later commented that he was “very excited” about O’Malley’s rematch, and praised the similar preparations when Diaz had to revenge his loss.
“Yeah, I’ll take it,” O’Malley said in response to McGregor’s comment on UFC 316 Media Day. “I’ll be a huge Connor fan forever.
“I’m grateful to be able to see him come out in my generation. I saw it happen. We look back and think he had one of the craziest careers. It’s cool to be able to see it happen while I’m in the UFC and everything.
Now O’Malley admits that he wasn’t the only fighter he was studying as he was about to return to orbit with Dvaliszvili on Saturday.
He definitely had McGregor vs. Diaz 2 on his playlist, but O’Malley says he was inspired by studying many other rematches and past performances when he tried to knock out Dvalishvili and regain the Bantamweight title.
“So I was watching Connor Nate. I’ve seen a lot of fights, but I didn’t realize that the camera was just recording so much and it was the moment when I was captured.” “I’ve seen a lot of fights.
“I’ve seen some rematches, but I’ve seen Chuck (Liddell) and Randy (Couture). I’ve never seen Chuck Liddell fight. Obviously I knew who he was, but I’ve never seen his fight.
That being said, O’Malley still has many praises for McGregor and the way he conquered the world.
From showmanship outside the cage to ferocious octagonal performances, O’Malley knows there’s always something to get from seeing McGregor at his peak.
“I’ve always been inspired by the Connor fight,” O’Malley said. “I have seen more fights than Connor probably (fights).