Sean O'Malley brands Conor McGregor 'jealous and bitter' as former friends' feud continues to brew ahead of UFC 306
08/24/2024 09:52 AM
Sean O’Malley has taken aim at Conor McGregor once again as the pair continue to feud despite a previous friendship.
The UFCbantamweight champion has previously spoken about how much McGregor inspired his career and persona, but they have fallen out in recent times. Despite attempts to speak positively about one another, it seems that the rivalry is still brewing between the two charismatic stars.
O’Malley even used to watch tapes of old McGregor fights in order to get ready for his own bouts, famously taking in clips ahead of his world title win against Aljamain Sterling last year. But the Irishman ripped into his American counterpart earlier in the year over an old drug test issue.
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Sean O’Malley brands Conor McGregor a ‘dork’ amid feud
Speaking about his potential as a pay-per-view star, Sean O’Malley noted that the market is so flooded with illegal streaming that it is hard to gauge. And he admits that Conor McGregor is the undisputed king of the PPV platform, even despite throwing a jab at the Irishman in branding him a ‘dork’.
Asked about who he feels is the face of the UFC, he claimed that it was still McGregor, regardless of his not fighting in three years. "Right now it's Conor McGregor, 100 percent," O'Malley told ESPN. "He's a dork, but it's the truth.
“For me to get to that, I need to go out there and knock out Merab, I go up to featherweight, I beat Ilia Topuria, I beat Max Holloway, I beat Umar Nurmagomedov, I'm three fights away from being one of the greatest of all-time, one of the most exciting of all-time.
“There's a difference. No one thinks Conor's the greatest fighter of all-time. He was lacking skills, lacked title defenses, but entertainment wise, he's the best in the world. Entertainment wise, he was the best."
Sean O’Malley claims Conor McGregor is ‘bitter and jealous’ of his recent accolades
After years of being one of McGregor’s biggest and most outspoken fans, O’Malley feels that he has not had that respect reciprocated. His goal to follow in the Irishman’s achievements was public, but after becoming world champion he reckons the response was not positive.
“I thought it was good for a while,” O’Malley said in that same ESPN interview regarding his dynamic with McGregor. “I would do something good and he would kind of say ‘yeah, I look good,’ something like that. He never wanted to give me that praise.
“It’s almost because you go back all my interviews like ‘I want to be like Conor, I want to do what Conor did, I want to do what Conor did.’ Now, I’m 29, defended the belt – something he’s never done by the way – and I just feel pure jealousy from it. It’s really weird because times change.
“He’s a little bit older now, he’s on a two-fight losing streak, he just pulled out because of his toe – which is just not Conor-like. I feel a lot of jealousy from Conor McGregor, to be honest, which sucks.”
Sean O’Malley insists he wants to avoid Conor McGregor ‘bitterness’ in later career
The feud between the pair has opened O’Malley’s eyes to the darker side of his hero worship, and he insists that he won’t be at the same stage when he reaches McGregor’s age. The Irishman is seven years his senior, and has lost out on multiple years of his prime career with injuries and other issues.
“I hope I don’t get bitter like that,” O’Malley said of his former idol, who is due to fight Michael Chandler in his rescheduled comeback to the octagon.
“I hope once my career starts maybe doing what he is doing – well, I hope my career never does that – I hope once I’m a little bit older and see someone else coming up, that I’m excited for them, happy for them.
“I want to be almost maybe a mentor towards them. Rather than just jealous and bitter because they have spotlight and I don’t.”
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