The Suga Show is returning to the UFC. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report this evening that Sean O’Malley (14-1) has his next date inside the octagon. Suga Sean will be taking on Raulian Paiva (21-3) next.
The fight will take place at UFC 269 on December 11th. In recent days, O’Malley has been teasing that he would be fighting on this card. At one point, he tweeted out hinting that he would be taking on Dominick Cruz.
Earlier today, we found out that Cruz would be taking on Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269. Munhoz was another fighter O’Malley was hinting at fighting. However, he will fight neither and he will get Paiva instead.
Like O’Malley, Paiva earned himself a UFC contract by winning a fight on The Contender Series. However, he would go on to lose his first two fights in the UFC. Granted, they were in the flyweight division and to two of the better fighters in the division.
Paiva moved up to bantamweight for his last fight and took on Kyler Phillips. He had an incredible performance and went on to pick up the win. Now, he’s going to try and ride that momentum into defeating Sean O’Malley.
UFC 269 is now featuring The Suga Show
There is no questioning the fact that Sean O’Malley has an “It” factor about him. When you look at him, look at the way he fights, and listen to the way he talks, the guy can be a superstar for the UFC.
However, he still has to back everything up inside the octagon. O’Malley has been very good during his tenure with the UFC, but he’s still not taking on the best of the best at 135 pounds.
In taking on this fight against Paiva, he’s taking on a top prospect, but not someone near the top. These are the kind of fights that O’Malley has to really put on a show if he wants to be taken serious and get the big names and the big money.
UFC 269 is not going to be an easy night for O’Malley. This will be a tough fight for him just like it was a tough fight for Kyler Phillips. I’m actually really excited about this matchup.