UFC 280: Sean O'Malley reveals how he's preparing for Petr Yan fight

Sean O’Malley has revealed how his preparations are going ahead of his mammoth UFC 280 clash against Petr Yan.

Next month in Abu Dhabi, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be putting on one of its biggest events of the year with two title fights and a whole lot of other excitement to be found up and down the card.

That includes the incredibly enticing featured grudge match that looks set to go down between Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan, two men who have been teasing a confrontation for quite some time now.

The match-up doesn’t make sense in the eyes of some given the discrepancy in their experience levels, but you can’t argue against this being an incredibly fun fight on paper.

O’Malley has already tried to take some of the pressure off himself by suggesting he wouldn’t be too upset if he lost to ‘No Mercy’ but in equal measure, you can tell he’s training harder for this fight than any other he’s had in the UFC.

If you don’t believe us, believe what ‘Suga’ said during a recent episode of his podcast.

“I’ve never watched tape. I’ve watched a little bit. Like, when I fought Pedro [Munhoz], I watched a little bit of the Dom [Dominick Cruz vs Pedro Munhoz] fight. I watched a little bit — But for this, for Petr, I’ve watched more. And this hasn’t been a ton, but like a little bit of the s*** you sent me. I’ve watched more on Petr than I have for previous opponents.”

“And we have f***ing such good partners, dude, right now — Marcus and then Jack, my buddy, Jack from the U.K. Just flew him down. He’s here for the rest of the camp; quick little f***er, good boxer. Marcus switches stances really well, like, has that forward pressure like Petr on.”

Ever since suffering his first defeat to Marlon Vera in summer 2020, Sean O’Malley