UFC 280: Petr Yan thinks Sean O’Malley is a ‘wannabe’ Conor McGregor (Video)

Petr Yan told reporters at UFC 280 media day that he believes his opponent Sean O’Malley is a “wannabe Conor” McGregor.

Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan is not impressed with his rival Sean O’Malley’s pre-fight antics. At UFC 280 media day in Abu Dhabi, Yan respond to UFC president Dana White’s previous comparison between the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight and the upcoming Yan vs. O’Malley bout. White claimed Yan vs. O’Malley is a bigger fight in a recent interview.

“Considering the PR side of things, you can definitely compare it to the Conor vs. Aldo fight, and Shawn is a UFC project and a Conor wannabe, and result of this matchup will be different,” Yan said.

“You saw my fight with Aldo, and the result of this matchup will be different.”

Petr Yan doesn’t think his fight with Sean O’Malley is like Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor

Yan also spoke about the reason he took up the fight against O’Malley, who was ranked 11 spots below Yan in the official UFC bantamweight rankings: “Considering all the top five guys are busy and have a fight scheduled, we had a desire to fight Sean, and we liked this idea and the fight was made.”

“No doubt [O’Malley] has good striking skills and very unorthodox styles, but if we consider the mental part of things, I believe that I’m stronger.”

Earlier in the week, Yan was a -400 favorite over O’Malley. However, the line has rapidly shifted from the -400 to -275 as of today. O’Malley has a large internet following, and the UFC loves to promote him in order to bring fresh eyes to the sport.

UFC 280: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev takes place on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, live from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.