Ilia Topuria dismisses Sean O’Malley’s callout.
O’Malley is eyeing a super fight with Topuria if both emerge victorious in their upcoming title bouts. Bantamweight champion O’Malley rematches Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner March 9 in Miami, whereas Topuria challenges featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 298 main event a few weeks earlier on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, Calif.
Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) sees nothing to gain by fighting O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC).
“First of all, what he wants is what he wants. Then there’s what I want,” Topuria said in an interview with KOlmenero. “He’s a fighter who fights good – he has a pretty visible style, good timing, good reflexes.
“He doesn’t have heavy hands, but (he hits) with precision. It’s not an easy fight as many say. He’s the world champion, but what would I gain by facing him? Right now, it’s not in my plans to fight him.”
Topuria is not sold on O’Malley being a star. Although O’Malley is headlining a stacked UFC 299 card, it was perhaps his former opponent Aljamain Sterling’s claim that their title fight this past August at UFC 292 didn’t sell as many pay-per-views as he thought, that has helped Topuria form that opinion.
“He thinks he’s a superstar, (but) he’s not at all,” Topuria said. “If you see his last pay-per-view numbers, he’s like – you better keep quiet. I want to grow up. I don’t want someone at my expense to grow up.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
