Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley made a big prediction about a possible Demetrious Johnson comeback.
Sean O’Malley will get a second chance at handing UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili a setback inside the Octagon at UFC 316. Just under a year after they fought at UFC 306, O’Malley and Dvalishvili will run it back in Newark in the second chapter of their rivalry.
Ahead of UFC 316, O’Malley has ramped up his training camp and brought in several UFC legends, including former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. O’Malley has also given up several vices in his personal life that he believes got in the way of getting the win at UFC 306.
Another intriguing element of O’Malley’s fight camp was Demetrious Johnson, who flew down to train with the former titleholder ahead of UFC 316. The all-time great Johnson announced his retirement from MMA last year after a title win in his last fight with ONE Championship.
Sean O’Malley thinks Demetrious Johnson would beat Alexandre Pantoja in comeback fight
Just months after Johnson retired and was inducted into the ONE Hall of Fame, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja called him out. Following his quick finish over Kai Asakura, Pantoja called out Johnson for a chance to reclaim the belt he held in one of the most dominant UFC title reigns.
After training with Johnson in Arizona, O’Malley believes Pantoja would be biting off more than he can chew if Johnson opted to return to fighting.
During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, O’Malley predicted how a matchup between Johnson and Pantoja would play out if the former champ were to return to the Octagon.
“If DJ wanted to come back and fight Pantoja, you can’t count DJ out, you just can’t. That would be a very competitive fight and I wouldn’t be surprised if Demetrious won,” O’Malley said after training with Johnson.
“He’s still got it! He’s 38, still explosive, fast, skills are still there. He very well could come back, but he just mentally doesn’t want to go through a fight camp.
“And I get it, they’re brutal. You do it as many times as he’s done it, done everything he’s done, making good money on YouTube and living a good life. If you don’t have that hunger inside you, the desire to try to do this, you shouldn’t do this. And he’s smart enough to go ‘Alright, I don’t need that’.”
Johnson set numerous records during his time atop the UFC’s flyweight division. A likely future UFC Hall of Famer, Johnson defended the flyweight belt a UFC record 11 times, with five submission wins in UFC title fights, also a promotional record.
- READ MORE: Sean O’Malley’s coach doubles down on bizarre excuse for loss to Merab Dvalishvili at the Sphere
Demetrious Johnson declined Alexandre Pantoja’s comeback invite after UFC 310
Johnson has since declined Pantoja’s callout despite alleging a $2 million offer from an unknown party to return to fighting. After retiring from MMA, Johnson remains active in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions and content creation.
As for O’Malley, he’s looking to get back on track in his UFC career after the unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 306. After his coach Tim Welch blamed the Las Vegas Sphere, in part, for his performance, O’Malley will look to make a statement at UFC 316.
Time will tell if Johnson’s presence in O’Malley’s training camp paid off.