Sean O’Malley is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC roster with more than one million followers on social media. But his UFC 260 opponent, Thomas Almeida, doesn’t put too much weight on those stats when it comes to actual fighting. O’Malley broke through as a rising star with a first-round knockout over Alfred Khashakyan on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, winning four in a row under the UFC banner before getting finished by Marlon Vera this past August. For Almeida, O’Malley “is popular on YouTube, but still has to prove many things in the UFC,” he said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “He’s a good kid, a talented kid, but still has to do a lot more. I face him like any other regular opponent. He has his qualities, he’s a talented kid, but I’ll do my game in there. I’m going there to work, be aggressive and represent. I’m really happy with this opportunity.” Almeida feels O’Malley’s fame is deserving, but thinks “Sugar” has to fight “tough opponents to be recognized in the UFC” and earn a different kind of notoriety. “In my opinion, in order to be recognized and famous, he has to…
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Thomas Almeida: Sean O'Malley 'popular on YouTube' but still unproven in the UFC
