Sean O'Malley proved he's a top-tier bantamweight no matter how you scored bout with Petr Yan
Whether you thought he won or lost on Saturday, you must admit one thing: Sean O'Malley belongs at the top of the bantamweight division.
Whether you believe that Petr Yan won their fight on Saturday on the main card of UFC 280 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, you must admit one thing: O'Malley belongs with the bantamweight elite.
And whether you believe that champion Aljamain Sterling would trounce him or whether former foe Marlon "Chito" Vera will pummel him if they rematch, you must admit one thing: O'Malley is one of the best 135-pound MMA fighters in the world.
Those who questioned why O'Malley got the fight against the No. 1-ranked Yan when he was ranked 12th at the time it was made now must understand why it was done. O'Malley's quite obviously a draw, one of the biggest in the sport. But he can also fight at an extremely high level.
"Sean Shelby was right," UFC president Dana White said of his matchmaker, whose idea it was to put O'Malley against Yan.
He won a split decision over Yan, with judges Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby scoring it 29-28 for O'Malley and Vito Paolillo seeing it 29-28 for Yan. This was one of those bouts that was close enough that it could have gone either way. Critics of O'Malley's win point to Yan's wrestling and the fact that he was 6 of 13 on takedowns, while O'Malley was 0 of 1.
But Yan did little with the takedowns. He didn't threaten submissions, he didn't deliver serious ground-and-pound and several times, O'Malley was able to pop up quickly. Yan had 5:44 of control time, slightly more than a third of the fight, but he didn't have a single submission attempt. For the most part, he simply held O'Malley down. In some fights, that's enough to win. In this one, when there were so many significant blows in the fight that control time counts for little. MMA is an offensive sport and both fighters delivered a lot of offense.
O'Malley hurt Yan with a knee, cut him open badly and landed and threw more strikes. They both landed telling blows and hurt the other. But O'Malley was largely safe on the ground, and thus that's not weighted as heavily as what else occurred during the rounds.
This was one of those classic fights that could have gone either way. Yahoo Sports scored it 29-28 for Yan, giving O'Malley Round 1 and Yan Rounds 2 and 3. Cartlidge and Lethaby each gave O'Malley Rounds 1 and 3 and Yan Round 2. And Paolillo gave Yan Rounds 1 and 2 and O'Malley 3.
O'Malley landed 40 of 71 significant strikes in Round 3, when he badly hurt Yan and nearly finished the fight. Yan connected on 15 of 26 significant strikes and had two takedowns and 1:52 of control time, nearly 40 percent of the round.
Looking at it after the fact, it is clear O'Malley won that third, and I was wrong to give it to Yan. But the outcome hinges on the scoring in the first. The leg kicks in Round 1 were virtually even, with Yan connecting on 11 of 11 and O'Malley 7 of 9. But O'Malley out-landed Yan 23-19 in the round, including 13-5 to the head. O'Malley landed some sharp head blows in the round.
There is zero debate that Yan won Round 2. So the three scores that are possible are 30-27 Yan, 29-28 Yan and 29-28 O'Malley.
That's really, though, a story for another day.
The story here is that O'Malley proved he's a quality, top-tier bantamweight not out of place at all against the best in the world. He stood up to Yan, a former champion, and went toe-to-toe, delivering as good, or even more, than he got. Yan bullied Sterling in their first fight when he made a massive mental gaffe and hit a downed Sterling with a knee in the face. Sterling couldn't continue and won the belt by DQ, but that was a fight Yan was on the verge of winning. Sterling won the rematch by split decision, but Yan had made a statement in that first fight.
It was much the same way he'd made a statement when he dominated Jose Aldo and finished the Brazilian legend to win the vacant title at UFC 251. He also sent Hall of Famer Uriah Faber into retirement with a one-sided beatdown at UFC 245.
Yan has proven himself repeatedly as one of the best bantamweights in the world. And even if you scored Saturday's bout for Yan, O'Malley was shoulder to shoulder with him. He was never in danger of being knocked out, as Aldo and Faber were, and he wasn't being dominated and overpowered as Sterling was in their first fight.
O'Malley's going to have to improve his takedown defense and perhaps add to his submission game to make himself more of an overall threat.
If you watched that fight on Saturday, what you saw was one of the best bantamweights in the world. And now, whether he gets the next crack at Sterling, gives Yan a rematch or perhaps gets a rematch with Vera, there will be no more discussion of gifts.
Sean O'Malley has officially earned everything he's gotten.
