Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt once appeared to be on a collision course in the Octagon. While they may yet meet, their fighting careers are currently headed in two very different directions.
O’Malley won for the seventh time in eight promotional appearances, scoring a first-round stoppage of Raulian Paiva in a bantamweight clash at UFC 269 on Saturday night. One bout later, Garbrandt was finished inside of a round by Kai Kara France in his flyweight debut — his fourth defeat in his last five outings.
O’Malley has been handled carefully thus far by UFC matchmakers, but White says the Contender Series alum has earned a step up in competition with his latest performance.