Kicking off the main card of UFC 264 tomorrow night is a showdown in the bantamweight division. Rising star “Suga” Sean O’Malley (13-1) is back as he will be taking on promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho (9-4).
Originally, O’Malley was supposed to take on Luis Smolka at UFC 264. However, Smolka had to pull out of the fight. Once Smolka was out of the fight, the promotion shopped around several replacement options.
Ultimately, they landed on UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho. Moutinho has spent his entire career thus far fighting on the regional circuit. Heading into tomorrow night, he’s won back-to-back fights.
His last fight came in May at Cage Fury Fighting Championships. He submitted Andrew Salas in the third round. Out of his nine professional wins, Moutinho has four finishes and five wins via decision.
The Suga Show bounced back well after he suffered his first career defeat. Last August at UFC 252, O’Malley suffered his first loss at the hands of Chito Vera. He returned at UFC 260 where he knocked out Thomas Almeida. So far in his UFC career, O’Malley is 5-1 with three knockouts.
UFC 264 Prediction
Kris Moutinho is getting the shot of a lifetime tomorrow night at UFC 264. Prior to this fight, nobody knew who he was and now he is getting to fight someone like Sean O’Malley on the main card of the biggest card of the year.
In reality, Moutinho has nothing to lose tomorrow night. However, he has everything to gain and that’s what makes him a dangerous opponent. Sean O’Malley on the other hand has virtually nothing to gain while having everything to lose.
In reality, Sean O’Malley needs to make this look easy tomorrow night. No disrespect to Kris Moutinho, but O’Malley needs to show the world that there are levels to this. An ultra competitive fight is still a loss for O’Malley even if he gets his hand raised at UFC 264.
That said, I do believe that O’Malley is going to go out and put on a show. I think the fight goes into the second round, but O’Malley will find the finishing blow and secure another knockout for his personal highlight reel.
Prediction: Sean O’Malley by TKO – Round 2