Chael Sonnen favors Sean O’Malley over Conor McGregor for MMA’s biggest star

UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen believes Sean O’Malley, not Conor McGregor, is the sport’s biggest pay-per-view star ahead of the former’s return to the cage.

O’Malley will face the surging Merab Dvalishvili in the UFC 306 main event on September 14th in Las Vegas. He returns after defending the title against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 earlier this year.

McGregor, who was supposed to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, has yet to make his UFC comeback as of this writing. He’s targeting a potential return in December, although it’s uncertain if the UFC will book him for the final pay-per-view of 2024.

Ahead of UFC 306, Sonnen believes O’Malley is a bigger star than McGregor at present.

Chael Sonnen: Conor McGregor forfeited ‘UFC’s biggest star’ title to Sean O’Malley

In a recent breakdown uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen explained why O’Malley holds a bigger spotlight than McGregor.

“O’Malley is the biggest star in our sport right now,” Sonnen said. “And ‘Red Panty Night’ is still real. Conor’s not in the sport, he’s not even licensed. Conor could not walk in and fight tonight if he wanted to. I’m just sharing with you, who’s in the sport, it’s one of those things. Conor has no more of a claim to this sport right now than [Georges] St-Pierre or Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. In fact, St-Pierre and Khabib have attended more UFCs in the last year than Conor.” (h/t MMA Fighting)

O’Malley and McGregor have traded barbs in recent months. Despite previous cordiality, O’Malley has pivoted on his stance towards McGregor, calling the former two-division champion a drug addict and a “dork“.

For perspective: Sonnen’s relationship with McGregor has also deteriorated in recent months. But, Sonnen remains intrigued at the prospect of McGregor returning to the Octagon.

O’Malley believes McGregor is still the face of the UFC, despite his rise in popularity. The returns of both fighters could be comparable in their pay-per-view draws and leverage.