Daniel Cormier says Sean O’Malley is brave for wanting Petr Yan next, but thinks there’s a reason.
O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) faces former bantamweight champion Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in a matchup that even had Dana White skeptical before accepting.
Yan marks a significant step up for O’Malley, who’s coming off a no contest against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 earlier this month. But stylistically, Cormier can see why O’Malley went after Yan, being that he has both height and reach on him.
“He feels he has advantages in certain areas,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “One, he’s longer. Two, Petr Yan’s a boxer. Sean O’Malley’s a boxer. He’s probably thinking to himself, ‘This is the most manageable matchup for me in the top five.’”
Yan has lost Round 1 in a few of his fights and is known for taking time to get going. UFC 280 will mark Yan’s first three-round fight since 2019, and Cormier thinks O’Malley will try to capitalize.
“Here’s another factor in this matchup that I wouldn’t say it plays to Sean’s advantage, but it makes it a little bit better for him, is that this isn’t five rounds,” Cormier said. “We have seen Petr Yan start slow early and then calculate his way through the later rounds and then dominate. You can’t start slow in a 15-minute fight, so maybe he takes more risk and Sean and his coaches look at that and go, ‘Hey, that gives me more opportunities to get at this dude.”
Daniel Cormier thinks Sean O’Malley sees Petr Yan as most favorable top-five matchup
