Garbrandt ‘Probably Get Knocked Out’ By O’Malley

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

Last weekend’s UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) event produced a pair of high-profile victories in the bantamweight division. Sean O’Malley stopped Eddie Wineland shortly before Cody Garbrandt laid waste to Raphael Assuncao.

Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before these two warriors meet?

“There’s no way he takes that fight, it’s a lose-lose for him,” O’Malley told ESPN. “One, he’s probably going to get knocked out and two, he’s fighting someone that has a lot of hype. But if he beats me people will say, ‘oh you (should have),’ so it’s a lose-lose for him I feel like. I’m sure that he’d avoid that fight.”

Garbrandt is a former UFC bantamweight champion who fell on hard times, to the tune of three straight knockout losses. That cost him the 135-pound strap as well as his undefeated record. “No Love,” however, appeared to get his groove back at UFC 249.

“I feel like I’d knock Cody out,” O’Malley said. “I think he is high-level. He’s a very, very dangerous opponent. Anyone that just throws bombs like that is dangerous. I feel like I’m calculated enough, accurate enough, and skill-wise enough to be able to knock him out. So that’s a win-win fight for me.”

O’Malley (12-0), just three years younger than Garbrandt at 25, remains perfect in four trips to the Octagon. No question it’s time for the “Contender Series” standout to start taking on ranked opponents, but Garbrandt may prove to be too much, too soon.