The list of the biggest stars in UFC history is a short one. Toping the list would be former two-division champion Conor McGregor, and by a large margin. He holds eight spots in the top 10 most UFC pay-per-view buys. McGregor’s stardom is what every fighter is after.
One of the fighters aiming for superstardom is bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. Already widely popular, O’Malley also has a thriving social media following that generates most of his income.
“I made a lot of money fighting but I made triple that from social media. From Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, all these different social medias. I made triple the amount I made fighting,” O’Malley said in an interview with Bradley Martyn last month.
“As long as Conor’s even in the f***ing possibility of fighting, he’s going to be the biggest thing.” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t think I’ll ever be bigger than Conor while Conor is still around. But Conor, his time is running out. I haven’t even reached my prime yet.”
McGregor will be 36 next month. He was scheduled to make his long-awaited return on June 29 in the UFC 303 main event against Michael Chandler but was forced out of the bout due to injury. Matchmakers pulled Chandler from the fight card and replaced the main event with a middleweight title bout between champion Alex Pereira and former titleholder Jiri Prochazka.
McGregor last fought at UFC 264 in July 2021. A trilogy bout between the Irishman and Dustin Poirier headlined the event. In the closing seconds of the opening round, McGregor suffered a broken leg. It was the last time McGregor stepped foot inside the octagon.
O’Malley, 29, won the 135-pound championship by stopping Aljamain Sterling in the first round at UFC 292 in August 2023. He successfully defended the title in March, avenging a previous loss to Marlon Vera in a one-sided unanimous decision. He’s expected to face top contender Merab Dvalishvili later this year.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/sean-omalley-conor-mcgregors-time-is-running-out
