00:00:01
Speaker 1: The Volume.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: Daniel!
00:00:02
Speaker 1: Come on, baby!
00:00:06
Speaker 3: Come on, baby! What's up, guys?
00:00:13
Speaker 4: Welcome to a special episode of the Daniel Cormier Show, brought to you by Total Wireless, the official mobile service provider of UFC.
00:00:20
Speaker 3: Real UFC fans need unlimited.
00:00:22
Speaker 4: 5G data that will not tap out. Real fans need real unlimited. Today I am joined by the number one contender for the Bantamweight Championship, Sugar Sean O'Malley. Hey, Sean O'Malley is that guy that for a while told us he had never lost a fight, and Kind of had us believing he had never lost a fight, even though we saw his foot give out on him in the fight.
00:00:47
Speaker 3: Sean O'Malley has told us now that he is the number one contender. Sean, thank you for joining me, my guy.
00:00:51
Speaker 2: I appreciate it, DC. It's good to see you're already back home. I like to get out of there as well, get back home. I woke up at 1.30 this morning. I was on the East Coast. I was in Florida doing something. So I woke up at 1.30 Arizona time, flew home, and I've been up since. So I think we're both probably a little, you're probably a little bit more jet-lagged and off, but It's crazy.
00:01:12
Speaker 3: John, let me say this to you.
00:01:13
Speaker 4: You know, when you first popped on the scene, I was having a conversation with one of my buddies.
00:01:20
Speaker 3: And he's in MMA. And we were talking. And he said, Sean's the best. I go, honestly, bro, he really is.
00:01:27
Speaker 4: Because when you first came, I didn't know what to make of the big personality and everything. But I think there are two guys in MMA that literally have done it right in regards to everything surrounding media.
00:01:41
Speaker 3: One, you, Michael Chandler. Because the other day, Puree on defense's title. And Song Yidong's in the arena.
00:01:52
Speaker 4: And I said, well, Song Yidong's right there because I'm going to be completely honest with you. The truck's in my ear going, we're going to show Song, right? So then obviously I'm going to say, well, Song Yidong's right there in the arena. And your coach took a little bit of offense to it, who, by the way, I'm going to talk to tomorrow on his podcast. And I messaged you, and you immediately go, dude, I don't take it personally.
00:02:18
Speaker 3: There's no deal. It is what it is. And Michael Chandler.
00:02:21
Speaker 4: And I think that by not having any type of personal feelings about us working, I believe we get blessed.
00:02:28
Speaker 3: Where did you develop that, Sean? Where are you just kind of like, ah, it is what it is, man. I get it.
00:02:34
Speaker 1: I'd say over the years.
00:02:35
Speaker 2: I'd say at the beginning of my career, I felt like the Tarion Ware fight, and I can't even really go back and pinpoint certain moments where But there was times I was like, man, does DC not really fuck with me? Like, does he want to see me lose? Like, there was a part of me that had that kind of feeling over the course of fights. And it was early on in my career.
00:02:55
Speaker 1: I was, you know, early 20s.
00:02:56
Speaker 2: I got to see when I was 20, you know, 23 years old, young kid.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: And then you realize, you put it in perspective. I'm like, you guys are sitting there.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: Eight, nine, ten hours, however many hours, sitting there commentating every single fight, every single fight card, and it's like you're bound to, whether you say something you don't even necessarily mean, or it just comes off the wrong way. So at first, there's times where I was like, I didn't like certain ways, certain fights, Rogan, the way Rogan, there was times.
00:03:26
Speaker 3: There was a time I said, I said, O'Malley's tired. He's looking at the clock and you're like, yo, I'm not tired. I'm just trying to see what the fuck is going on.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: I said, I'm Michael Jordan in the fourth. I didn't know how much time I got on the clock. Yeah, I remember that.
00:03:41
Speaker 4: Then over time, obviously we spoke and then we started to build this rapport. And honestly, I respect your career, which you've done a ton. But when talking about that, like I said, Song Yedong's in the building. You have beaten Song Yedong. And honestly, in that moment, I actually forget that you just beat Song Yedong two fights ago.
00:03:59
Speaker 3: I had forgotten. This year.
00:04:01
Speaker 1: This year. It was this year.
00:04:02
Speaker 3: You got a victory over Song Yedong. Obviously, you won the fight at the White House.
00:04:06
Speaker 4: And even after the White House, I think if you watch after the fight, me, Joe, and John are almost saying we believe O'Malley should fight for the belt right now.
00:04:14
Speaker 3: But that didn't happen. Tell me why you.
00:04:16
Speaker 4: Believe you should get this title fight right now, Sean, with your history with P.O.
00:04:21
Speaker 2: DeJuan. Yeah, I mean, I knew after Peter and Merab fought in December last year.
00:04:27
Speaker 1: That was a trilogy in the making.
00:04:29
Speaker 2: Everyone was kind of like, that's what needs to happen next. Merab defended his belt three times, tried to defend it four times in one year. Merab deserved the title shot. If anybody in the history of the sport deserved a rematch after losing their belt, it was Merab. So that was kind of in the back of my mind. I'm coming off two losses, and they offered me Song Yedong. a killer at the time he was like at the time he was everyone knew he was a killer but they didn't put as much respect on his name until he goes out there and chokes figgy and knocks out umar back to back and and i fought him this year people are like people forget it's like i literally was like eight months ago or something nine months ago but i mean i peter beat song when i was defending my title in in my miami i believe it was So Peter already beat Song.
00:05:14
Speaker 1: I already beat Song.
00:05:14
Speaker 2: I just, I mean, I don't think it's really a debate or an argument. I don't think there's really, I mean, you said it. And like you said, Song was in the building there in your ear.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: Makes sense. I'm, you know, I'm not there. Song's there.
00:05:24
Speaker 2: He's, you know, but yeah, I don't think it's really, I don't really feel like I have to push for it or argue for it or, you know, try to do anything crazy for it.
00:05:32
Speaker 1: Me versus Peter's happening next. It's, it's a, it just is.
00:05:35
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:05:36
Speaker 1: I refuse to believe otherwise.
00:05:38
Speaker 4: And you say this could be the biggest Bantamweight fight of all time.
00:05:42
Speaker 1: Hands down. It will be.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: Charles Sundin always.
00:05:45
Speaker 4: Said the biggest star in the Bantamweight division is Sean O'Malley. He doesn't have a fight right now. Every time we would talk and we had our show together, he would always talk about that. But what makes you feel that? Do you feel like Piotr and winning against Merab in the way that he just did helps to build that fight? Because as you know, Sean, You can be a star, but you ultimately need that dance partner to truly elevate the fight.
00:06:09
Speaker 3: Into that next level.
00:06:11
Speaker 4: Do you feel like the performance on Saturday raised the star quality of Piotr Jan to where you guys can put on one of the biggest bantamweight fights you've ever seen?
00:06:21
Speaker 2: Yes, I don't think of Piotr Jan as a superstar. He's not going to walk down the street and get mobbed. In the MMA community, he's one of the most respected fighters ever. And I think the promotion of that will really get to the wider audience. And I do think, you know, we're not going to be a co-main event. It's not going to be, you know, we're going to be a main event. It's going to be a massive card. I think me versus Cheeto number wise, like it was the biggest bantamweight fight of all time as of now. But I do think me versus Peter is going to be bigger. The Cheeto fight was like people, ah, it doesn't deserve it, this or that.
00:06:52
Speaker 1: I think the.
00:06:52
Speaker 2: Majority of people want to see this rematch. It was a close fight four years ago. We're very close. And it's just, it's time.
00:07:03
Speaker 3: Hey, look at your kid. Cute kid, man.
00:07:05
Speaker 4: Sean, what did you make of the fight on Saturday, Piotr Jan and Merab Diwalis? Have you ever seen a fight that played so differently between two guys over five rounds? Because for two and a half rounds, it seemed like Merab was winning the fight. And Piotr was having a hard time getting going because he was constantly defending. He wasn't able to put damage on Marab Duvalish Willie. But the moment he was able to damage him in the third round, the fight shifted. Were you surprised that it played out in that way? And what did you make of that performance?
00:07:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we saw Peter, what he's capable of in that second fight. We're like, okay, this guy is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world right now. And going into that third fight, I knew he'd have that surgery in January. And that first round, I was like, damn, Peter did not look as good as he did in that second fight. But Merab also looked better. I'll say Merab looked better and Peter didn't look as good. I don't know if it was one or the other or a little mixture of both. But I was like, man, Merab really is coming out with this crazy pace. He's doing what he said he was going to do. He's going to go in there and he's going to shoot and then try to get– we got him. He's going to punch into takedowns, punch into takedowns.
00:08:23
Speaker 1: And he did— sorry.
00:08:25
Speaker 2: He did that for the first two rounds, 10 minutes.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: And then I was literally thinking, I was saying, I was like, Peter needs to hurt him and get his respect. And once he hurt him, he got his respect. You could see, like, he got a little bit demoralized.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: And even in that second fight, after the fight, him saying, once I realized I couldn't take Peter Jan down— I kind of, I don't know what the quote was, but he said, once I realized I couldn't take him down, I was just going to have fun or whatever. You could see the moment where it was like, okay, he realizes he can't take Peter down and hold him. And the fight was just the momentum of just swung. But Peter's such a, he's so fun to watch.
00:09:01
Speaker 1: And it was crazy.
00:09:02
Speaker 2: Cause if there was a three round fight, that's what's so great about these three round fight.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Peter Robbins.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:09:07
Speaker 1: It's crazy.
00:09:09
Speaker 3: I literally said that after the second round. I go for it.
00:09:12
Speaker 4: As Dominic Miraba has looked, this fight is still not over because we have seen Piotr Jan do this on so many occasions. He did it when he won the interim title in Corey Sanhagen. Corey Sanhagen. When he beat Sanhagen, Sanhagen started so well. And by the end of the fight, he had him.
00:09:27
Speaker 3: Obviously.
00:09:28
Speaker 4: You were able to hold up to that barrage. But when you look at Piotr Jan today, you're right. He has to damage you, especially Marab. Plus, also, if I'm being completely honest, I don't know that that pace that Marab was trying to fight at was, I don't know if he could sustain that.
00:09:43
Speaker 3: I don't know if anybody could sustain. Because here's the thing. It seemed like he was concerned because he didn't want to get hurt. So he was shooting to make sure that Piotr couldn't throw anything. But can you really do that for 25 minutes?
00:09:56
Speaker 2: If you're winning, if you're winning, you can, but he wasn't winning like scrambles. That's what Piotr did such a good job, Doug. He defended. He stayed in the pocket. He was throwing his combos. So, I mean, he can hold that pace. We've seen him do it, you know. We've seen him do it time and time again when he's winning. But if the second he starts losing … Yeah, he's not getting hurt.
00:10:14
Speaker 4: When he starts taking damage, the whole fight changes. Like, after round two, his face just looked normal. He wasn't all beat up. He wasn't bleeding. And then by the end of round three, you could start to see that change in morale. But honestly, I thought both guys had pretty decent performances. But when you watch that, though, Sean, and you think back to four years ago when you guys fought.
00:10:34
Speaker 3: Do you see much of a difference.
00:10:35
Speaker 4: In Piotr Jan today opposed to the guy you fought back in the day when you did get the victory over him?
00:10:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, 100%.
00:10:44
Speaker 2: Piotr Jan, he's in his prime. You know, when we both fought, I don't think neither of us were really in our prime. Piotr, he's gotten, we've both just gotten better at what we do. And that's what makes this fight so exciting is like, I don't know if Peter Jan's ever shot.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: I had him shoot like nine times.
00:11:01
Speaker 2: He was shooting to survive.
00:11:04
Speaker 1: I took him down one time, DC.
00:11:05
Speaker 2: Just so I could giggle about it, just so I could tell you.
00:11:08
Speaker 1: I told you you saw that. I hit him with a little whoop, just put him on his face. I took him down once.
00:11:12
Speaker 2: He was shooting to survive, and Peter Jan's not a wrestler.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: He can wrestle. He took Marab down. He can wrestle. He's not a wrestler.
00:11:19
Speaker 2: He was a wrestler against me, and that's what makes this fight so exciting is we're seeing– it's going to be a very high-level MMA fight.
00:11:27
Speaker 4: How much were you rooting for Piotr Jan on Saturday to retain that championship, knowing that that was going to be your path to even having a title conversation? Obviously, with the history that you and Marab share, it was paramount for you to have Piotr Jan hold on to that championship. Have you ever gone into a fight watching and rooting for someone more than you had to root for Piotr Jan this weekend?
00:11:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was definitely weird, because I do like Marab, but I also want... One was best for me. Peter Wynn was best for me. If Peter would have lost, Marab wins, Song versus Marab, sick fight. There's another title fight right there. Song beats Marab. I go out there and I would have fought Peyton. I go out there and beat Peyton.
00:12:10
Speaker 1: Song wins.
00:12:11
Speaker 2: I'm right there for a title shot. I wasn't really like, oh no, if Peter doesn't win, I'm never going to fight for the title. I'm excited to fight for the title. I want to become champion again. My next fight is going to be fantastic. exciting regardless, but this is just the most exciting it could possibly be is me versus Peter for the title. But me versus Peyton would have been a sweet fight. That's probably what it would have been.
00:12:32
Speaker 3: That's another thing.
00:12:33
Speaker 4: Had you kind of accepted, well, it may be me versus Peyton Talbot.
00:12:37
Speaker 3: And I mean.
00:12:40
Speaker 3: You know, in the beginning, guys didn't necessarily want.
00:12:42
Speaker 4: To fight you because you were the up and coming guy that was so dangerous and that was so tough to fight.
00:12:47
Speaker 3: And they knew that you had all this hype. Peyton Talbot is that, too. Right. And so many people are trying to force you guys together.
00:12:54
Speaker 4: Honestly, the reason I would want to see you guys fight, because I think it would be just the sickest fight, because I think Peyton Talbot is just a sick fighter also. Yeah. Had you kind of accepted like, well, if I don't fight for the belt next, it'll be Peyton Talbot and I'm OK with that.
00:13:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that seemed like what everyone kind of wanted. It made sense. He's coming off a couple big wins. Yeah, I think that's probably what it would have been next. That's what kind of the team and I were talking about. Like, all right, if Peter loses, we'll fight Peyton. But it's so hard to say. It's all, you know, UFC at the end of the day kind of, you know, tells you what you're going to do.
00:13:28
Speaker 1: But I think that's what would have happened.
00:13:31
Speaker 2: But yeah.
00:13:32
Speaker 3: Sean, you know what's the craziest thing about what you just said? When people are like, DC said this guy's getting a title fight. I don't decide this. Like, I have no pull. Sean, I have no stroke. I have no influence. I'm not saying who's fighting for the belt next. I'm like you. I'm just the guy that gets to talk about it next to the octagon. But I have no... I have no actual ability.
00:13:53
Speaker 2: In your defense, if Song wasn't there, I don't think you would have brought up.
00:13:57
Speaker 1: I think Song's next. I think, you know, Song was there.
00:14:00
Speaker 4: Honestly, like, if somebody else was there and they were to be like, we're putting him on the screen, I'd have probably said, well, he's sitting in the stands right now, too.
00:14:07
Speaker 1: Chris Moutinho?
00:14:09
Speaker 3: Was that?
00:14:10
Speaker 1: Say Chris Moutinho, even if he was there?
00:14:12
Speaker 3: No, no, no.
00:14:14
Speaker 1: No, fuck that, fuck that.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Do you remember that time whenever you beat Al Jermaine? Rob's like there.
00:14:18
Speaker 1: Oh, do I ever.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: Right?
00:14:20
Speaker 3: And it just kind of happens. Like that is how stuff happens.
00:14:23
Speaker 1: Well, I fought Cheeto. I called my shot. I fought, I called my shot there. Cheeto was the, I wanted that.
00:14:28
Speaker 2: So I'm surprised Peter Yan doesn't really, you know, ever since I beat him and I never really heard Peter call for a rematch.
00:14:35
Speaker 1: I want Sugar. I want the rematch.
00:14:38
Speaker 3: Has he never said he wanted to fight again? I've never heard it.
00:14:42
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't speak Russian or Thailandese or whatever he speaks.
00:14:45
Speaker 1: But I've never... He's not pushing for that fight.
00:14:48
Speaker 3: You'd think if he.
00:14:48
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying?
00:14:49
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not saying Peter Jan's scared of me, but there might be a reason he's not pushing for that fight. He knows, too, he's going to pick whatever and choose, but you'd think maybe he gets on the mic.
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Calls me out.
00:15:02
Speaker 4: Well, Sean, I think that you fighting for the championship against Peter Jan would be box office. I think it's a blockbuster event. It's where you've kind of sat in your whole entire career, right? On the marquee, big moments, big times. How exciting and how rejuvenating would it be for you to get that call and you to start to prepare to try to become a champion again? Because stardom is one thing. Stardom and possessing a championship is a different thing, right? I've lived on the side of world champ and I've lived on the side as the guy trying to become world champion. How exciting is that for you to think that you are maybe right on the verge of getting all those things again?
00:15:46
Speaker 2: Being 16, 17, 18 years old, when I started realizing this was kind of what I wanted to do, I didn't picture, you know, I want to win the belt, lose the belt, win the belt like this, but I pictured becoming a successful whatever it was and i truly knew that i would live something like this kind of lifestyle and uh it was like it wasn't like i thought like i felt it i really truly felt like and it's funny like when i first started going around coming around tim when i was like 18 years old i was telling him about this i'm like bro we're gonna make it to the top we're gonna be at the top and he's like bro you're so young you're so delusional and like he didn't It.
00:16:24
Speaker 3: Was a feeling though.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Like I was telling him, I'm like, bro, we're making it. We're going to be at the top of the sport someday. Like we're going to, me and you. And it was, he was just like, bro, shut up.
00:16:31
Speaker 1: Shut the fuck up.
00:16:32
Speaker 2: And then like, but so it wasn't, this was, this wasn't like, I didn't win the lottery. It was like, I was like, knew what was going to happen.
00:16:40
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:16:41
Speaker 4: Sean, you've been a world champion. You're going to try to become a world champion again. You've tried to become a world champion on other occasions. Is there a different pressure now? Being a father, having had the belt, trying to chase it down again, and what could potentially be the last opportunity to try to become world champion?
00:17:06
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say there's any kind of pressure.
00:17:08
Speaker 2: I feel like I'm in a good position to where I'm still a star at the end of the day.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: I still got big fights.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: My fights don't need to be championship fights for people to care about, and I feel like I'm in a lucky position that I'm in that kind of a position. It's almost like a Nate Diaz, like no one gives a fuck about fights for the belt. You just want to watch Nate Diaz fight.
00:17:28
Speaker 3: But you win more.
00:17:30
Speaker 2: Good.
00:17:30
Speaker 3: But you win more.
00:17:31
Speaker 4: Like I like Nate, but he didn't win at the rate that you win at.
00:17:36
Speaker 2: Right, right. Maybe that wasn't the best example, but I don't feel like there's pressure. Like if I go out there and lose to Peter Jan, that's like I lost my opportunity to never fight for the belt again. Maybe I don't ever fight for the belt again. My next fight's going to be big. My next fight's going to be exciting. But I just don't see a world where I'm living in this world where I'm going to go out there. I'm going to beat Peter Jan. I'm taking the belt off Peter Jan. I took the belt off Aljo. I took the belt off Peter. And that's just the world I'm living in, and there's no other options. So, I mean, I got to go put in the work. We got to figure out a date, figure out a time, figure out a place, and it's a matter of time.
00:18:11
Speaker 4: Sean, as I let you go, what's your final message to the champion right now As you tell him that you are the rightful number one contender.
00:18:21
Speaker 2: I send Peter Jan Instagram notes every once in a while.
00:18:26
Speaker 1: Are you serious? Oh, yeah.
00:18:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, me and Peter have had some funny back and forths on Instagram.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, I tell you.
00:18:34
Speaker 2: I told him, I said, make sure you go beat Marab and Abu Dhabi so I can beat your ass again. And then I made a little, like, laugh.
00:18:44
Speaker 1: And he sends me a voice note back. Sean, come to Abu Dhabi. I smash Marab. Then I smash you.
00:18:52
Speaker 2: He did the laugh back. It was fucking hilarious. Oh, my God.
00:18:57
Speaker 1: But my message to Peter, I mean, it's, I mean, I got everything he wants.
00:19:04
Speaker 4: Hair.
00:19:05
Speaker 1: Six foot. Beat Aljo. He's got one thing I want. Is that belt.
00:19:10
Speaker 2: And I got everything he wants.
00:19:14
Speaker 1: It's going to be an epic fight.
00:19:16
Speaker 4: Guys, Sugar Sean O'Malley hopes to become a UFC champion for a second time. If he gets the opportunity to fight Piotr Jan, Sean, you're a great dude, man. I appreciate you taking the time. Good luck with everything, bro. And, you know, like I said, me, Rogan and Anik were talking the other day. We are all in accord that we believe that it should be you fighting for this belt. And we're hopeful that you get that opportunity.
00:19:41
Speaker 3: All right.
00:19:43
Speaker 1: Appreciate you, DC.
00:19:44
Speaker 3: Thank you, brother.
00:19:44
Speaker 1: Have a good night.
00:19:45
Speaker 3: Good luck, brother.
00:19:46
Speaker 4: Until next time, guys, like, subscribe, and tell your friends I got a YouTube channel. I'm tapping with guys like Sean O'Malley. Until next time, peace.
Speaker 1: The Volume.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: Daniel!
00:00:02
Speaker 1: Come on, baby!
00:00:06
Speaker 3: Come on, baby! What's up, guys?
00:00:13
Speaker 4: Welcome to a special episode of the Daniel Cormier Show, brought to you by Total Wireless, the official mobile service provider of UFC.
00:00:20
Speaker 3: Real UFC fans need unlimited.
00:00:22
Speaker 4: 5G data that will not tap out. Real fans need real unlimited. Today I am joined by the number one contender for the Bantamweight Championship, Sugar Sean O'Malley. Hey, Sean O'Malley is that guy that for a while told us he had never lost a fight, and Kind of had us believing he had never lost a fight, even though we saw his foot give out on him in the fight.
00:00:47
Speaker 3: Sean O'Malley has told us now that he is the number one contender. Sean, thank you for joining me, my guy.
00:00:51
Speaker 2: I appreciate it, DC. It's good to see you're already back home. I like to get out of there as well, get back home. I woke up at 1.30 this morning. I was on the East Coast. I was in Florida doing something. So I woke up at 1.30 Arizona time, flew home, and I've been up since. So I think we're both probably a little, you're probably a little bit more jet-lagged and off, but It's crazy.
00:01:12
Speaker 3: John, let me say this to you.
00:01:13
Speaker 4: You know, when you first popped on the scene, I was having a conversation with one of my buddies.
00:01:20
Speaker 3: And he's in MMA. And we were talking. And he said, Sean's the best. I go, honestly, bro, he really is.
00:01:27
Speaker 4: Because when you first came, I didn't know what to make of the big personality and everything. But I think there are two guys in MMA that literally have done it right in regards to everything surrounding media.
00:01:41
Speaker 3: One, you, Michael Chandler. Because the other day, Puree on defense's title. And Song Yidong's in the arena.
00:01:52
Speaker 4: And I said, well, Song Yidong's right there because I'm going to be completely honest with you. The truck's in my ear going, we're going to show Song, right? So then obviously I'm going to say, well, Song Yidong's right there in the arena. And your coach took a little bit of offense to it, who, by the way, I'm going to talk to tomorrow on his podcast. And I messaged you, and you immediately go, dude, I don't take it personally.
00:02:18
Speaker 3: There's no deal. It is what it is. And Michael Chandler.
00:02:21
Speaker 4: And I think that by not having any type of personal feelings about us working, I believe we get blessed.
00:02:28
Speaker 3: Where did you develop that, Sean? Where are you just kind of like, ah, it is what it is, man. I get it.
00:02:34
Speaker 1: I'd say over the years.
00:02:35
Speaker 2: I'd say at the beginning of my career, I felt like the Tarion Ware fight, and I can't even really go back and pinpoint certain moments where But there was times I was like, man, does DC not really fuck with me? Like, does he want to see me lose? Like, there was a part of me that had that kind of feeling over the course of fights. And it was early on in my career.
00:02:55
Speaker 1: I was, you know, early 20s.
00:02:56
Speaker 2: I got to see when I was 20, you know, 23 years old, young kid.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: And then you realize, you put it in perspective. I'm like, you guys are sitting there.
00:03:02
Speaker 2: Eight, nine, ten hours, however many hours, sitting there commentating every single fight, every single fight card, and it's like you're bound to, whether you say something you don't even necessarily mean, or it just comes off the wrong way. So at first, there's times where I was like, I didn't like certain ways, certain fights, Rogan, the way Rogan, there was times.
00:03:26
Speaker 3: There was a time I said, I said, O'Malley's tired. He's looking at the clock and you're like, yo, I'm not tired. I'm just trying to see what the fuck is going on.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: I said, I'm Michael Jordan in the fourth. I didn't know how much time I got on the clock. Yeah, I remember that.
00:03:41
Speaker 4: Then over time, obviously we spoke and then we started to build this rapport. And honestly, I respect your career, which you've done a ton. But when talking about that, like I said, Song Yedong's in the building. You have beaten Song Yedong. And honestly, in that moment, I actually forget that you just beat Song Yedong two fights ago.
00:03:59
Speaker 3: I had forgotten. This year.
00:04:01
Speaker 1: This year. It was this year.
00:04:02
Speaker 3: You got a victory over Song Yedong. Obviously, you won the fight at the White House.
00:04:06
Speaker 4: And even after the White House, I think if you watch after the fight, me, Joe, and John are almost saying we believe O'Malley should fight for the belt right now.
00:04:14
Speaker 3: But that didn't happen. Tell me why you.
00:04:16
Speaker 4: Believe you should get this title fight right now, Sean, with your history with P.O.
00:04:21
Speaker 2: DeJuan. Yeah, I mean, I knew after Peter and Merab fought in December last year.
00:04:27
Speaker 1: That was a trilogy in the making.
00:04:29
Speaker 2: Everyone was kind of like, that's what needs to happen next. Merab defended his belt three times, tried to defend it four times in one year. Merab deserved the title shot. If anybody in the history of the sport deserved a rematch after losing their belt, it was Merab. So that was kind of in the back of my mind. I'm coming off two losses, and they offered me Song Yedong. a killer at the time he was like at the time he was everyone knew he was a killer but they didn't put as much respect on his name until he goes out there and chokes figgy and knocks out umar back to back and and i fought him this year people are like people forget it's like i literally was like eight months ago or something nine months ago but i mean i peter beat song when i was defending my title in in my miami i believe it was So Peter already beat Song.
00:05:14
Speaker 1: I already beat Song.
00:05:14
Speaker 2: I just, I mean, I don't think it's really a debate or an argument. I don't think there's really, I mean, you said it. And like you said, Song was in the building there in your ear.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: Makes sense. I'm, you know, I'm not there. Song's there.
00:05:24
Speaker 2: He's, you know, but yeah, I don't think it's really, I don't really feel like I have to push for it or argue for it or, you know, try to do anything crazy for it.
00:05:32
Speaker 1: Me versus Peter's happening next. It's, it's a, it just is.
00:05:35
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:05:36
Speaker 1: I refuse to believe otherwise.
00:05:38
Speaker 4: And you say this could be the biggest Bantamweight fight of all time.
00:05:42
Speaker 1: Hands down. It will be.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: Charles Sundin always.
00:05:45
Speaker 4: Said the biggest star in the Bantamweight division is Sean O'Malley. He doesn't have a fight right now. Every time we would talk and we had our show together, he would always talk about that. But what makes you feel that? Do you feel like Piotr and winning against Merab in the way that he just did helps to build that fight? Because as you know, Sean, You can be a star, but you ultimately need that dance partner to truly elevate the fight.
00:06:09
Speaker 3: Into that next level.
00:06:11
Speaker 4: Do you feel like the performance on Saturday raised the star quality of Piotr Jan to where you guys can put on one of the biggest bantamweight fights you've ever seen?
00:06:21
Speaker 2: Yes, I don't think of Piotr Jan as a superstar. He's not going to walk down the street and get mobbed. In the MMA community, he's one of the most respected fighters ever. And I think the promotion of that will really get to the wider audience. And I do think, you know, we're not going to be a co-main event. It's not going to be, you know, we're going to be a main event. It's going to be a massive card. I think me versus Cheeto number wise, like it was the biggest bantamweight fight of all time as of now. But I do think me versus Peter is going to be bigger. The Cheeto fight was like people, ah, it doesn't deserve it, this or that.
00:06:52
Speaker 1: I think the.
00:06:52
Speaker 2: Majority of people want to see this rematch. It was a close fight four years ago. We're very close. And it's just, it's time.
00:07:03
Speaker 3: Hey, look at your kid. Cute kid, man.
00:07:05
Speaker 4: Sean, what did you make of the fight on Saturday, Piotr Jan and Merab Diwalis? Have you ever seen a fight that played so differently between two guys over five rounds? Because for two and a half rounds, it seemed like Merab was winning the fight. And Piotr was having a hard time getting going because he was constantly defending. He wasn't able to put damage on Marab Duvalish Willie. But the moment he was able to damage him in the third round, the fight shifted. Were you surprised that it played out in that way? And what did you make of that performance?
00:07:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we saw Peter, what he's capable of in that second fight. We're like, okay, this guy is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world right now. And going into that third fight, I knew he'd have that surgery in January. And that first round, I was like, damn, Peter did not look as good as he did in that second fight. But Merab also looked better. I'll say Merab looked better and Peter didn't look as good. I don't know if it was one or the other or a little mixture of both. But I was like, man, Merab really is coming out with this crazy pace. He's doing what he said he was going to do. He's going to go in there and he's going to shoot and then try to get– we got him. He's going to punch into takedowns, punch into takedowns.
00:08:23
Speaker 1: And he did— sorry.
00:08:25
Speaker 2: He did that for the first two rounds, 10 minutes.
00:08:29
Speaker 1: And then I was literally thinking, I was saying, I was like, Peter needs to hurt him and get his respect. And once he hurt him, he got his respect. You could see, like, he got a little bit demoralized.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: And even in that second fight, after the fight, him saying, once I realized I couldn't take Peter Jan down— I kind of, I don't know what the quote was, but he said, once I realized I couldn't take him down, I was just going to have fun or whatever. You could see the moment where it was like, okay, he realizes he can't take Peter down and hold him. And the fight was just the momentum of just swung. But Peter's such a, he's so fun to watch.
00:09:01
Speaker 1: And it was crazy.
00:09:02
Speaker 2: Cause if there was a three round fight, that's what's so great about these three round fight.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Peter Robbins.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:09:07
Speaker 1: It's crazy.
00:09:09
Speaker 3: I literally said that after the second round. I go for it.
00:09:12
Speaker 4: As Dominic Miraba has looked, this fight is still not over because we have seen Piotr Jan do this on so many occasions. He did it when he won the interim title in Corey Sanhagen. Corey Sanhagen. When he beat Sanhagen, Sanhagen started so well. And by the end of the fight, he had him.
00:09:27
Speaker 3: Obviously.
00:09:28
Speaker 4: You were able to hold up to that barrage. But when you look at Piotr Jan today, you're right. He has to damage you, especially Marab. Plus, also, if I'm being completely honest, I don't know that that pace that Marab was trying to fight at was, I don't know if he could sustain that.
00:09:43
Speaker 3: I don't know if anybody could sustain. Because here's the thing. It seemed like he was concerned because he didn't want to get hurt. So he was shooting to make sure that Piotr couldn't throw anything. But can you really do that for 25 minutes?
00:09:56
Speaker 2: If you're winning, if you're winning, you can, but he wasn't winning like scrambles. That's what Piotr did such a good job, Doug. He defended. He stayed in the pocket. He was throwing his combos. So, I mean, he can hold that pace. We've seen him do it, you know. We've seen him do it time and time again when he's winning. But if the second he starts losing … Yeah, he's not getting hurt.
00:10:14
Speaker 4: When he starts taking damage, the whole fight changes. Like, after round two, his face just looked normal. He wasn't all beat up. He wasn't bleeding. And then by the end of round three, you could start to see that change in morale. But honestly, I thought both guys had pretty decent performances. But when you watch that, though, Sean, and you think back to four years ago when you guys fought.
00:10:34
Speaker 3: Do you see much of a difference.
00:10:35
Speaker 4: In Piotr Jan today opposed to the guy you fought back in the day when you did get the victory over him?
00:10:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, 100%.
00:10:44
Speaker 2: Piotr Jan, he's in his prime. You know, when we both fought, I don't think neither of us were really in our prime. Piotr, he's gotten, we've both just gotten better at what we do. And that's what makes this fight so exciting is like, I don't know if Peter Jan's ever shot.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: I had him shoot like nine times.
00:11:01
Speaker 2: He was shooting to survive.
00:11:04
Speaker 1: I took him down one time, DC.
00:11:05
Speaker 2: Just so I could giggle about it, just so I could tell you.
00:11:08
Speaker 1: I told you you saw that. I hit him with a little whoop, just put him on his face. I took him down once.
00:11:12
Speaker 2: He was shooting to survive, and Peter Jan's not a wrestler.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: He can wrestle. He took Marab down. He can wrestle. He's not a wrestler.
00:11:19
Speaker 2: He was a wrestler against me, and that's what makes this fight so exciting is we're seeing– it's going to be a very high-level MMA fight.
00:11:27
Speaker 4: How much were you rooting for Piotr Jan on Saturday to retain that championship, knowing that that was going to be your path to even having a title conversation? Obviously, with the history that you and Marab share, it was paramount for you to have Piotr Jan hold on to that championship. Have you ever gone into a fight watching and rooting for someone more than you had to root for Piotr Jan this weekend?
00:11:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was definitely weird, because I do like Marab, but I also want... One was best for me. Peter Wynn was best for me. If Peter would have lost, Marab wins, Song versus Marab, sick fight. There's another title fight right there. Song beats Marab. I go out there and I would have fought Peyton. I go out there and beat Peyton.
00:12:10
Speaker 1: Song wins.
00:12:11
Speaker 2: I'm right there for a title shot. I wasn't really like, oh no, if Peter doesn't win, I'm never going to fight for the title. I'm excited to fight for the title. I want to become champion again. My next fight is going to be fantastic. exciting regardless, but this is just the most exciting it could possibly be is me versus Peter for the title. But me versus Peyton would have been a sweet fight. That's probably what it would have been.
00:12:32
Speaker 3: That's another thing.
00:12:33
Speaker 4: Had you kind of accepted, well, it may be me versus Peyton Talbot.
00:12:37
Speaker 3: And I mean.
00:12:40
Speaker 3: You know, in the beginning, guys didn't necessarily want.
00:12:42
Speaker 4: To fight you because you were the up and coming guy that was so dangerous and that was so tough to fight.
00:12:47
Speaker 3: And they knew that you had all this hype. Peyton Talbot is that, too. Right. And so many people are trying to force you guys together.
00:12:54
Speaker 4: Honestly, the reason I would want to see you guys fight, because I think it would be just the sickest fight, because I think Peyton Talbot is just a sick fighter also. Yeah. Had you kind of accepted like, well, if I don't fight for the belt next, it'll be Peyton Talbot and I'm OK with that.
00:13:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that seemed like what everyone kind of wanted. It made sense. He's coming off a couple big wins. Yeah, I think that's probably what it would have been next. That's what kind of the team and I were talking about. Like, all right, if Peter loses, we'll fight Peyton. But it's so hard to say. It's all, you know, UFC at the end of the day kind of, you know, tells you what you're going to do.
00:13:28
Speaker 1: But I think that's what would have happened.
00:13:31
Speaker 2: But yeah.
00:13:32
Speaker 3: Sean, you know what's the craziest thing about what you just said? When people are like, DC said this guy's getting a title fight. I don't decide this. Like, I have no pull. Sean, I have no stroke. I have no influence. I'm not saying who's fighting for the belt next. I'm like you. I'm just the guy that gets to talk about it next to the octagon. But I have no... I have no actual ability.
00:13:53
Speaker 2: In your defense, if Song wasn't there, I don't think you would have brought up.
00:13:57
Speaker 1: I think Song's next. I think, you know, Song was there.
00:14:00
Speaker 4: Honestly, like, if somebody else was there and they were to be like, we're putting him on the screen, I'd have probably said, well, he's sitting in the stands right now, too.
00:14:07
Speaker 1: Chris Moutinho?
00:14:09
Speaker 3: Was that?
00:14:10
Speaker 1: Say Chris Moutinho, even if he was there?
00:14:12
Speaker 3: No, no, no.
00:14:14
Speaker 1: No, fuck that, fuck that.
00:14:15
Speaker 3: Do you remember that time whenever you beat Al Jermaine? Rob's like there.
00:14:18
Speaker 1: Oh, do I ever.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: Right?
00:14:20
Speaker 3: And it just kind of happens. Like that is how stuff happens.
00:14:23
Speaker 1: Well, I fought Cheeto. I called my shot. I fought, I called my shot there. Cheeto was the, I wanted that.
00:14:28
Speaker 2: So I'm surprised Peter Yan doesn't really, you know, ever since I beat him and I never really heard Peter call for a rematch.
00:14:35
Speaker 1: I want Sugar. I want the rematch.
00:14:38
Speaker 3: Has he never said he wanted to fight again? I've never heard it.
00:14:42
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't speak Russian or Thailandese or whatever he speaks.
00:14:45
Speaker 1: But I've never... He's not pushing for that fight.
00:14:48
Speaker 3: You'd think if he.
00:14:48
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying?
00:14:49
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not saying Peter Jan's scared of me, but there might be a reason he's not pushing for that fight. He knows, too, he's going to pick whatever and choose, but you'd think maybe he gets on the mic.
00:15:01
Speaker 1: Calls me out.
00:15:02
Speaker 4: Well, Sean, I think that you fighting for the championship against Peter Jan would be box office. I think it's a blockbuster event. It's where you've kind of sat in your whole entire career, right? On the marquee, big moments, big times. How exciting and how rejuvenating would it be for you to get that call and you to start to prepare to try to become a champion again? Because stardom is one thing. Stardom and possessing a championship is a different thing, right? I've lived on the side of world champ and I've lived on the side as the guy trying to become world champion. How exciting is that for you to think that you are maybe right on the verge of getting all those things again?
00:15:46
Speaker 2: Being 16, 17, 18 years old, when I started realizing this was kind of what I wanted to do, I didn't picture, you know, I want to win the belt, lose the belt, win the belt like this, but I pictured becoming a successful whatever it was and i truly knew that i would live something like this kind of lifestyle and uh it was like it wasn't like i thought like i felt it i really truly felt like and it's funny like when i first started going around coming around tim when i was like 18 years old i was telling him about this i'm like bro we're gonna make it to the top we're gonna be at the top and he's like bro you're so young you're so delusional and like he didn't It.
00:16:24
Speaker 3: Was a feeling though.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Like I was telling him, I'm like, bro, we're making it. We're going to be at the top of the sport someday. Like we're going to, me and you. And it was, he was just like, bro, shut up.
00:16:31
Speaker 1: Shut the fuck up.
00:16:32
Speaker 2: And then like, but so it wasn't, this was, this wasn't like, I didn't win the lottery. It was like, I was like, knew what was going to happen.
00:16:40
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:16:41
Speaker 4: Sean, you've been a world champion. You're going to try to become a world champion again. You've tried to become a world champion on other occasions. Is there a different pressure now? Being a father, having had the belt, trying to chase it down again, and what could potentially be the last opportunity to try to become world champion?
00:17:06
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say there's any kind of pressure.
00:17:08
Speaker 2: I feel like I'm in a good position to where I'm still a star at the end of the day.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: I still got big fights.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: My fights don't need to be championship fights for people to care about, and I feel like I'm in a lucky position that I'm in that kind of a position. It's almost like a Nate Diaz, like no one gives a fuck about fights for the belt. You just want to watch Nate Diaz fight.
00:17:28
Speaker 3: But you win more.
00:17:30
Speaker 2: Good.
00:17:30
Speaker 3: But you win more.
00:17:31
Speaker 4: Like I like Nate, but he didn't win at the rate that you win at.
00:17:36
Speaker 2: Right, right. Maybe that wasn't the best example, but I don't feel like there's pressure. Like if I go out there and lose to Peter Jan, that's like I lost my opportunity to never fight for the belt again. Maybe I don't ever fight for the belt again. My next fight's going to be big. My next fight's going to be exciting. But I just don't see a world where I'm living in this world where I'm going to go out there. I'm going to beat Peter Jan. I'm taking the belt off Peter Jan. I took the belt off Aljo. I took the belt off Peter. And that's just the world I'm living in, and there's no other options. So, I mean, I got to go put in the work. We got to figure out a date, figure out a time, figure out a place, and it's a matter of time.
00:18:11
Speaker 4: Sean, as I let you go, what's your final message to the champion right now As you tell him that you are the rightful number one contender.
00:18:21
Speaker 2: I send Peter Jan Instagram notes every once in a while.
00:18:26
Speaker 1: Are you serious? Oh, yeah.
00:18:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, me and Peter have had some funny back and forths on Instagram.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, I tell you.
00:18:34
Speaker 2: I told him, I said, make sure you go beat Marab and Abu Dhabi so I can beat your ass again. And then I made a little, like, laugh.
00:18:44
Speaker 1: And he sends me a voice note back. Sean, come to Abu Dhabi. I smash Marab. Then I smash you.
00:18:52
Speaker 2: He did the laugh back. It was fucking hilarious. Oh, my God.
00:18:57
Speaker 1: But my message to Peter, I mean, it's, I mean, I got everything he wants.
00:19:04
Speaker 4: Hair.
00:19:05
Speaker 1: Six foot. Beat Aljo. He's got one thing I want. Is that belt.
00:19:10
Speaker 2: And I got everything he wants.
00:19:14
Speaker 1: It's going to be an epic fight.
00:19:16
Speaker 4: Guys, Sugar Sean O'Malley hopes to become a UFC champion for a second time. If he gets the opportunity to fight Piotr Jan, Sean, you're a great dude, man. I appreciate you taking the time. Good luck with everything, bro. And, you know, like I said, me, Rogan and Anik were talking the other day. We are all in accord that we believe that it should be you fighting for this belt. And we're hopeful that you get that opportunity.
00:19:41
Speaker 3: All right.
00:19:43
Speaker 1: Appreciate you, DC.
00:19:44
Speaker 3: Thank you, brother.
00:19:44
Speaker 1: Have a good night.
00:19:45
Speaker 3: Good luck, brother.
00:19:46
Speaker 4: Until next time, guys, like, subscribe, and tell your friends I got a YouTube channel. I'm tapping with guys like Sean O'Malley. Until next time, peace.
