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Ryan Garcia was impressed with Sean O'Malley's performance at UFC 292 — but also offered a warning to the 28-year-old.
O'Malley upset the odds in a big way when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 headliner last night in Boston to become the new bantamweight champion.
Garcia was among many watching and it's fair to say he liked what he saw from O'Malley.
“SUGA SEAN TOO LIT AAAHHHH,” he tweeted.
Afterward, “Sugar” called his shot as he wanted to have a rematch with Marlon Vera in December in Las Vegas. However, he also later revealed his desire to emulate Conor McGregor by having a boxing match down the line.
His preferred opponent? Undefeated lightweight superstar Gervonta Davis.
If O'Malley's star continues to shine and he becomes an even bigger mainstream personality, it's more than possible. But for now, the focus will be on racking up the title defenses at 135.
That said, Garcia sent a warning to O'Malley about his boxing aspirations.
“SUGA Sean you are good and all but stop talking about this ‘I’m going to box stuff.' You’ll just get knocked out.”
That led to a response from the new bantamweight king who seemed to mock Garcia's knockout defeat to Davis earlier this year: “Like you did or different?”
Garcia responded by explaining there were differences between the two sports and he'd be happy to showcase it by fighting O'Malley in a boxing match.
“Boxing and MMA are two different sports and if you need a reminder let me know I’ll gladly do a tune up for my return fight,” Garcia replied.
When a fan asked Garcia why he had a sudden switchup, the former WBC interim lightweight champion claimed it was only a response to O'Malley's previous callouts.
“He’s been calling me out lol and now He said he wants to knock out boxers 😭 I like how he fights but he’s tripping 😅”
O'Malley is certainly one of the most skilled fighters in the UFC and among the best strikers overall. However, the result won't be any different to McGregor's if he were to end up fighting a top level boxer like Davis or Garcia.
But that doesn't mean people won't tune in to find out either.