Sean O’Malley says he has the best striking in the sport after scoring a stunning knockout win at the UFC 250 fight card.
The rising bantamweight star opened the UFC 250 main card on a high note as he produced one of the most terrifying walk-off knockouts in MMA history with a brutal finish of Eddie Wineland.
Less than two minutes into the opening round, ‘Sugar’ landed a vicious overhand right straight into the face of the MMA veteran. Confident the fight was over, O’Malley walked away while Wineland was knocked out cold in the mat.
It was his second straight win in the UFC since returning from a two-year ban last March, improving his undefeated professional MMA record to 12-0.
A strong candidate for the Knockout of the Year recognition, O’Malley took home the Performance of the Night honor for an extra $50 000 along with fellow bantamweights, Cody Garbrandt and Aljamain Sterling, who both scored quick wins.
Relive the knockout in the video below:
Best Striker
Following the stunning finish, O’Malley said: “I seriously believe I do have the best striking in all of MMA.”
He added: “It was a matter of minutes from the beginning of the fight before I cracked him with something. I was longer than him and when you’re as fast and accurate as I am, I’m gonna land first and I’m going to land early and I landed on the button.”
“I was really, really healthy for this fight, I had no injuries. Last fight, I felt I was 95 percent, I had a couple small injuries, but I felt 100% in there tonight.”
He also said the walk-off knockout was worth $100 000 and is hoping he’ll get a salary raise for his next fight.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported: “Sean O’Malley told me he didn’t act more excited about his walkoff KO over Eddie Wineland because he’s known he was going to do it for weeks. He said some people get more excited about KO’s because they’re almost surprised. He’s never surprised.”
UFC 250 Full Results:
Amanda Nunes def. Felicia Spencer via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45)
Cody Garbrandt def. Raphael Assuncao via second-round knockout
Aljamain Sterling def. Cory Sandhagen via first-round submission
Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland via first-round knockout
Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ian Heinsich def. Gerald Meerschaert via first-round TKO
Cody Stamann def. Brian Kelleher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd via second-round TKO
Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga via first-round TKO
Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham via first-round submission
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Sean O’Malley and UFC)