Sean O’Malley is one of the most notable budding superstars in the UFC today. Yet, many are criticizing “Sugar” Sean for seemingly refusing to take on higher-ranked opponents.
In an August interview after his UFC 264 win over Kris Moutinho, the self-proclaimed “unranked champ” admitted to everyone’s criticisms. His reason? Money.
“For me, I have a contract to fight a certain amount of fights and I only get paid a certain amount of money whether I fight Louis Smolka, the dude I was supposed to fight, or I fight Petr Yan, the number one bantamweight in the UFC.