UFC News: Dana White Denies Giving ‘Golden Goose’ Sean O’Malley ‘Easy Fights'

Dana White says there's no room for lay-ups in the UFC.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Dana White says Sean O'Malley doesn't need protecting.

That much was made clear when 'Sugar' was thrown into the deep end against ex-champ Petr Yan in the fight of his life at UFC 280. O'Malley made it the distance, scraping by with a split decision win before taking the throne from then-champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 and defending the title for the first time against Chito Vera at UFC 299 in March.

While O'Malley gets his flowers now as an undisputed champion, it wasn't always that way. On his road to the title, O'Malley was constantly dismissed as a high-calibre fighter, given the fact that he had not won against a single ranked bantamweight until Yan—which was a surprise booking in the first place between the #1 contender and the most colourful dark horse you'll ever see in the UFC.

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You might remember the "can crusher" narrative around O'Malley when he went three rounds with Kris Moutinho, a regional fighter with a record of 9-4, who nearly saw the distance with O'Malley had referee Herb Dean not stopped the fight. Moutinho didn't stay on the roster for long, being cut by the UFC after a first-round TKO loss in his next fight.

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“If you make it into the f****** UFC, you are not fighting easy fights," White said of O'Malley's massive victory over Petr Yan on 'Flagrant'. "There is no feeding the golden goose. How is he the golden goose when we just f****** found him? He’s never won a f****** world title… you don’t know. You test these guys.“

Sean O'Malley fighting Petr Yan at UFC 280 / Craig Kidwell-USA TODAY Sports

O'Malley signed to the UFC after a breakout performance on Dana White's Contender Series in 2017. A 22-year-old O'Malley made quite the first impression on the UFC brass with a first-round knockout that had rapper Snoop Dogg on commentary yelling, "O'MALLEY!" over and over again.

"They Said The Same Thing About Conor.."

The Contender Series product put on more one-sided performances in the UFC, and so other prospects have followed him, including undefeated wrestler Bo Nickal. Nickal also faces criticism for making it look easy against the more experienced competition, even though He is just six fights into his pro-MMA career.

"Now they’re saying [the same thing about] Bo Nickal, ‘Oh, Bo Nickal’s f******…’ you know what I mean? They said the same thing about Conor [McGregor]!” the UFC CEO added.

Sean O'Malley is targeted to make his next title defense later this year against #1 contender Merab Dvalishvili. "The Machine" had already beaten three former champions prior to his first UFC title fight.

Practicing for my after party 🎉🦾😂 #UFC306 #bookit #UFCsphere #mexicanindependenceday pic.twitter.com/4PNwZZ2BhS

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) June 3, 2024

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