You don’t see many boxers make the leap from the ring to the cage. It’s been done, but not in a long time. James Toney made the jump back in 2010 and was easily finished by Randy Couture. But then again, there’s Holly Holm.
In recent years, the temptation of big paydays have lured mixed martial artists to the boxing ring, but it’s been a one-way street. Jake Paul is training to make his Professional Fighters League debut and Ryan Garcia called out bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley for an MMA bout in the UFC.
On his YouTube channel, O’Malley responded to Garcia saying, “I’d fight Sean O’Malley in the UFC that’s it.”
“Buddy, I said, brother, I’d kill you within minutes. It’s not even, it’s just not even realistic,” O’Malley said. “It’s crazy how stupid and delusional. I wonder if people think that when I call out boxers, though. Is it the same kind of thing? It is a little bit crazy when I call out boxers. A little bit. Not a ton. Not a 100-percent crazy. A little bit, but when boxers say they want to fight MMA, 100-percent crazy.”
When Toney fought Couture, Couture simply took him down and submitted him. O’Malley doesn’t think he needs grappling to beat Garcia in an MMA fight.
“I don’t need to f**king take him down. I mean, I could take him down and choke him, but it’s like I would kick him in the f**king body. I would kick his little sticks. I would do whatever the f**k I wanted to him,” O’Malley said.
“I could box him with MMA gloves. It’s a different sport with just those little MMA gloves. The distance is different,” O’Malley continued. “I could beat him and Devin Haney in the same night, back-to-back in a fight. Pure delusion.”
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/sean-omalley-responds-to-stupid-and-delusional-ryan-garcia-ufc-call-out
