Sean O’Malley explains why he is reluctant to fight Cody Garbrandt: “I go out there and lose to Cody, that does a lot of negative damage towards me”

Bantamweight standout Sean O’Malley has explained why he is reluctant to fight former champion Cody Garbrandt next time out.

O’Malley (15-1 MMA) and Garbrandt (12-5 MMA) have been trash talking one another for some time now and even squared off with each other prior to last month’s UFC 269 event in Las Vegas

‘Suga’ went on to score a first-round TKO victory over Raulian Paiva on December 11, while ‘No Love’ wound up suffering a knockout loss at the hands of Kai Kara-France.

Had both men emerged victorious at UFC 269, there is no doubt that a fight between Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt would have made a lot of sense. However, with Cody losing, again by way of knockout, ‘Suga’ says the fight no longer does much for him.

Image Credit: Screenshot UFC

O’Malley shared the following words on Michael Bisping’s ‘Believe You Me‘ podcast:

“After Cody got knocked out, I got asked at the press conference: ‘What do you wanna say?’. And I just said, ‘I feel bad for him’. He’s lost a lot of fights in a row, and I don’t really have anything negative to say about him.” Sean O’Malley said of Cody Garbrandt. “It’s just tough. If I go out there and beat him… I do not see it doing much for me right now. He’s 1-6 or something in his last seven. I think he’s won one fight since 2017. I go out there and beat him, it doesn’t really do what it would’ve (done) three or four fights ago. I go out there and lose to Cody, who’s 1-7 and just got knocked out, that does a lot of negative damage towards me. I just don’t think that’s realistically the next fight.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61dPwxu6Xso

As noted by O’Malley above, Garbrandt has gone just 1-5 over his past six Octagon appearances, with four of those losses coming by way of knockout.

Do you agree with Sean O’Malley that a fight with Cody Garbrandt is no longer a smart option? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!