Two currentUFCchampions have been trading verbal blows in recent weeks, as bantamweight kingSean O’Malleyand flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja argue over a previous sparring match.
According to Pantoja, the men did spar eight years ago while they were both cutting their teeth as young MMA prospects. Then, the details got murky.
After the session, Pantoja asked O’Malley’s camp for a video of the workout. The 125-pound champ claims that ‘Suga Sean’ was afraid to release the footage.
Pantoja told theNew York Postthat someone in O’Malley’s circle told him: “He’s not going to send it to you, bro. You smashed him.”
O’Malleyresponded with a screenshot, seemingly showing him with the upper hand against Pantoja during that sparring session.
“I don’t like releasing sparring footage, but Pantoja can’t keep my name out of his mouth,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know why he brought it up; I literally finished him in the first round with a liver shot.”
Now, O’Malley hasdropped the entire clip, and it looks like he was telling the truth the whole time. In it, he hits Pantoja with a devastating kick to the liver.
After circling the octagon for a few seconds, Pantoja waved off the fight before O’Malley could throw another shot. The two fighters dapped each other up, and the video ended.
It’s not new for fighters to hype up sparring sessions and claim they dominated their opponent because, as O’Malley alluded, most fighters don’t want to release sparring clips — good or bad.
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However, after Pantoja told fans that he was the one who landed the shot that ended the session, O’Malley came with receipts to disprove that statement.
There’s no plan for a champion vs champion bout between the two, but perhaps if this bad blood keeps boiling, O’Malley and Pantoja can settle things in a real UFC fight.
Hunter Haas was a Senior Sports Writer at Dexerto. Over the last two years he has worked as a writer and editor for FanSided at NFLMocks. He also served as an editor at The Raider Ramble and The Blue Stable. Hunter is an expert in all things MMA, WWE, and NFL.
You can email him here: hunter.haas@dexerto.com
