LAS VEGAS – Jose Quinonez can’t wait to get his hands on Sean O’Malley.
The runner-up of Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” welcomes prospect O’Malley for his first fight since March 2018 at UFC 248 on Saturday. The featherweight matchup headlines the preliminary card on ESPN.
Quinonez (8-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and O’Malley (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) were booked to fight in November 2018, but O’Malley was forced to withdraw after issues with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Quinonez is happy the UFC decided to book him against O’Malley once again, and admitted there’s some bad blood that stems from the failed matchup.
“I always had it in mind,” Quinonez told MMA Junkie at Thursday’s media day. “When we were going to fight, a week out, the bout fell through and that was tough because it’s never happened to me before. I did keep a little bit of hate for that, but the opportunity arose, the universe came together, and the planets aligned – and now I’m in Las Vegas.
“It’s my first professional fight here, and I have nothing left to do but to give it my all. Also, big thanks to the UFC. I’m here to show them I’m ready for big things, and the truth is that I want to knock out O’Malley.”
O’Malley has made a name for himself with his skills and fighting style, but also with his persona outside the cage. Quinonez is not a big fan of O’Malley’s antics and words outside the octagon.
“The truth is that I’m a man of peace, and I don’t like conflict outside of the octagon,” Quinonez said. “But the kid likes to go about things like this, so that does motivate me and I want to shut his mouth.
“He talks a lot and thinks he’s all that, but I’m prepared and my cage time is better than his. I bring my experience and all my hard work. I’m motivated by his trash talk and the fact that he likes conflict. I didn’t focus too much on that, but I do have something for him in the cage, so we’ll see.”
Quinonez respects O’Malley and is taking the fight seriously, but does have questions about his skill level and he’s out to test O’Malley to see if he’s all hype.
“He’s flashy and likes to show off, and that speaks about his personality,” Quinonez explained. “He likes to talk and have people look at him, even though he hasn’t done much in the UFC. But the good thing is that everyone gets tested in the octagon, and his quality will be shown in the cage, not outside of it. Everything he does won’t count inside the octagon, so I’m blessed to be fighting him in Las Vegas.”
Quinonez plans to bring a new style to UFC 248 and thinks he’s much improved since his most recent bout this past September in Mexico City.
“I’m going to break him and I’m going to take him to his limits,” Quinonez said. “It’s my moment and I’m going to rip his heart out.”
Jose Quinonez out to test Sean O'Malley at UFC 248: 'He hasn't done much in the UFC'
