Sean O’Malley was forced to leave the octagon on a stretcher for the second time in his career Saturday at UFC 252.
This difference for O’Malley this time, however, is that he came out of the fight on the losing end.
O’Malley (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) suffered an apparent leg injury in the early stages of his bantamweight co-main event with Marlon Vera (16-6-1 MMA, 10-5 UFC), which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and ultimately lost by fist-round TKO, as “Suga” could not hold off the onslaught Vera rained down on the mat.
It was similar to O’Malley’s fight with Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222 in March 2018. Except that time, he managed to overcome the injury and get the win. He left on a stretcher after that fight, and it was the same case at UFC 252.
The nature of O’Malley’s injury remains unknown, but he appeared to be in serious pain in the immediate aftermath of the fight.
Sean O'Malley leaves octagon on stretcher after UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera