Jon Jones is extremely high on new UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and his potential to be a big star for the promotion.
O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) completed his path to UFC gold earlier this month when he dethroned Aljamain Sterling for the 135-pound belt with a second-round TKO at UFC 292 in Boston. UFC president Dana White has touted “Sugar” as a marquee attraction for the promotion, and only sees his notoriety growing from here.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), the current UFC heavyweight titleholder, agrees that O’Malley is a name on the rise, and sees parallels between his career trajectory and that of former two-division champ Conor McGregor.
“Sean O’Malley – I’m excited about him – he has the look,” Jones said on the OverDogs Podcast. “He reminds me a lot of McGregor. He’s really raw and authentic, he has that kind of rags-to-riches story that everyone appreciates, especially in this country. I like him. I like him a lot and I really want to see how far he can take it.”
Jones, who will return to competition when he puts his title on the line against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York, admits he picked Sterling to defeat O’Malley in their matchup.
O’Malley managed to exceed Jones’ expectations, though, and now “Bones” is fully invested in seeing how O’Malley’s career plays out from here.
“He’s young enough still to where he can take those leaps and bounds in his game,” Jones said. “He’s going to be around for a long time. To beat up Aljamain like that – I always put my money on the wrestler. O’Malley, he’s looking like the total package. I’m going to be tuning into his pay-per-views for the next couple of years.”
