Sean O’Malley is currently ranked at #9 in the world for the UFC’s bantamweight division. During a recent pdocast O’Malley talked about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s decision to retire from MMA.
O’Malley believes that Nurmagomedov’s retirement might have been due to the
threat presented by Charles Oliveira, who is the current UFC lightweight
champion.
Retirement has been a hot topic amongst UFC fans ever since Khabib
Nurmagomedov made his final walk to the octagon. The former lightweight
champion announced his retirement after his most recent bout against Justin
Gaethje in October 2020, with an undefeated record of 29-0.
This makes Nurmagomedov one of the greatest athletes to ever set foot inside the cage and
arguably the best fighter at 155 lbs. He won the title at UFC 223 and went on to
defend it three times before his retirement. His legacy as a champion is solidified and
he will be remembered as the gold standard for all future champions.
Since Charles Oliveira’s 11-fight win streak- which includes title fight victories over
Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Gaethje- he has looked like a potential
contender to beat Nurmagomedov.
In an interview with Canal Encarada, Sean
O’Malley shared his thoughts on a potential matchup between Oliveira and
Nurmagomedov, if he comes out of retirement.
There have been talks of coaching a
season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Tony Ferguson but nothing has been
officially announced yet. O’Malley believes that Oliveira will likely come out on top of
that contest and even wondered whether the Brazilian’s resurgence might.