Sean O’Malley Snubs UFC Champ By Naming "More Interesting" Flyweight Matchup

"Just a little bit of beef goes a long way."

Drew Beaupré | Sep 18, 2023

Sean O’Malley Snubs UFC Champ By Naming "More Interesting" Flyweight Matchup /

Sean O’Malley is ready to see two intriguing flyweights settle things in the Octagon after the fighters got heated at UFC 293.

A matchup between Kai Kara-France and Manel Kape was originally scheduled as one of the standout fights for the UFC’s return to Sydney, but unfortunately “Don’t Blink” was forced to pull out of the event and was replaced by promotional debutant Felipe dos Santos.

“Star Boy” made headlines during UFC 293 fight week when he went after Kara-France at the event’s pre-fight press conference. After defeating dos Santos via unanimous decision, Kape got on the microphone and directed a homophobic slur at the New Zealander while he was sitting cageside to support his teammate Israel Adesanya.

The bad blood between the two men has understandably generated talk that the UFC should rebook their matchup, and on his YouTube channel O’Malley claimed that fight is more interesting than anything else the promotion has available at flyweight.

Manel Kape UFC 293 — Kape was supposed to face Kara-France at UFC 293. :: Jasmin Frank/USA TODAY Sports)

“You see [Kape] yelling at Kai?” O’Malley asked his coach Tim Welch. “That s*** got crazy, couple f-bombs got dropped…Manel Kape made – that fight, him versus Kai is more interesting than [Alexandre] Pantoja versus anybody at 125…Just a little bit of beef goes a long way.”

O'Malley's snub of Pantoja comes after the Brazilian won the flyweight belt in an epic Fight of the Year candidate against Brandon Moreno at UFC 290. "The Cannibal" is currently on a four-fight win streak that began when he defeated Kape in 2021.

"Star Boy" began his UFC career with back-to-back losses against Pantoja and Matheus Nicolau, but he's now on a four-fight win streak of his own after he defeated dos Santos in Australia.

Kara-France came up short in his bid to claim the interim flyweight belt against Moreno at UFC 277 before losing a controversial split decision to Amir Albazi, and rebooking the matchup with Kape could provide both flyweights with a chance to challenge Pantoja for the division's title.

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Published Sep 18, 2023