Although he had believed that he was a superstar his whole life, it was that moment and performance at UFC 248 that solidified what the bantamweight contender already knew. He had envisioned it, manifested it, and made his dreams a reality.
“Yeah, that was a legendary one. Really every fight since that it’s felt like I’m truly a superstar,” O’Malley told UFC.com. “Every single fight I feel like I’m the main event, and I bet if you could statistically look at who the fans are most excited to see fight, then you’d have data to back that up.”
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The superstar lifestyle looks good on O’Malley, who has made it common practice to arrive to fight week in style. Private jets, exotic sports cars, and flashy outfits are the norm, and allow O’Malley to customize his fight week the way he wants it.
“Every single fight week gets crazier and crazier. I have the confidence to do my fight week like this because of the performances that I put on. I’m as good as I am because of the preparation and the performances I’ve had,” O’Malley said. “I could fly commercial and arrive in the bus and still go out there and do what I’m capable of doing.”
What UFC fans have seen O’Malley do is knock people out. He has absolutely dazzled in performances against Eddie Wineland, Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho, and Raulian Paiva. These knockouts helped push O’Malley into the bantamweight division’s Top 15 and landed him a bout with highly respected veteran Pedro Munhoz.
Taking the game at his own pace allowed O’Malley to build his skillset and star power simultaneously. That’s the main reason the 27-year-old feels this bout with Munhoz comes at a perfect time.
