Sean O’Malley plans on testing free agency once UFC contract expires

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley says he plans on testing free agency once his UFC contract expires next year.

O’Malley is one of the top young bantamweights in the sport right now, as well as one of the biggest stars in the sport. However, he has continually fought lower-ranked competition, with one of the reasons he is doing so because he believes he should get paid more money to fight ranked fighters in headlining fights. O’Malley is happy to be a member of the UFC roster, but he also hopes the company pays him more money going forward.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, O’Malley admitted that he is hoping to get a big-money offer in free agency. O’Malley said he still has a few fights left on his UFC contract, but once it’s over, he plans on testing free agency and seeing what’s out there.

“I could probably renegotiate a contract right now with the UFC, but then I don’t get offers from other places. And I’m not necessarily looking to leave, I’m not necessarily looking to go other places, but we’ll see what other opportunities present themselves,” O’Malley said.

“I really do plan on staying with the UFC. I think I belong in the UFC. But also if I’m going to get offered twice as much money to go do something else — I love boxing. We’ll see where it goes. Like I said, I love the UFC, they’ve been nothing but great to me. And I think after this contract is up, I don’t think they’ll have an issue paying me what I think I deserve. But we might be on a completely different mindset there. They might not think I’m worth half a million or whatever the number is. I’ve been on like five consecutive pay-per-views.”

Do you think Sean O’Malley will re-sign with the UFC or leave for another promotion?