Sean O’Malley is delighted to have reignited his friendship with Conor McGregor, even though he wasn’t aware he had done it.
Former bantamweight champion O’Malley received praise from his idol McGregor after being spotted watching his rematch with Nate Diaz from 2016 during a YouTube video. The Irishman was honored to be featured, and tweeted his support for O’Malley ahead of UFC 316.
It follows a tumultuous few years for the pair, whose relationship has been on a rocky road. The former two-weight world champion has slammed O’Malley over his previous issues with USADA, but it appears in recent times that they have rekindled their relationship.
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Sean O’Malley reacts to Conor McGregor’s viral message of support for UFC 316
A key part of Sean O’Malley’s preparations for UFC 316 has been dropping social media amid a host of pre-fight lifestyle changes. As a result, he didn’t see any of Conor McGregor’s reactions to a video showing him watching McGregor-Diaz 2 during training camp.
Asked about the post by Bloody Elbow at UFC 316 media day, O’Malley had to be informed of what exactly had been said. He seemed delighted by the quote, before replying: “I’ll forever be a huge Conor fan.
“I feel grateful to be able to watch his come-up in my generation, we watched it happen. I think we’ll look back and say he had one of the craziest careers so it’s cool to be able to watch it happen while I was getting into the UFC and everything. I’m pumped the relationship is back to good.”
Sean O’Malley watched Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 2 to prepare for UFC 316
A moment that went viral in the lead-up to this Saturday’s world title rematch came when O’Malley was spotted watching one of Conor McGregor’s most famous fights. It was one of a string of rematches the ex-champion has been looking at to gain inspiration for his second shot at the world title.
“We just have cameras recording so much that I didn’t realize that was a moment that got captured,” he told Bloody Elbow. “I’ve been watching a bunch of fights, watching some rematches, Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture was one.
“I’ve never watched Chuck Liddell fights, I obviously knew who he was but I had never watched the fights. I’ve been watching a lot of old school fights which has been cool.
“I’ve always taken inspiration from Conor fights. I’ve watched Conor fights more than probably anyone except maybe my fights.”