After appearing as a guest on Rizin 49 “Decade,” Sean O’Malley is interested in the possibility of fighting in Japan, but only under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner.
“Right now, obviously, I’m in the UFC,” O’Malley said in his post-fight press conference. “I plan on being in the UFC for a long time, so if the UFC comes here one day, I would love to fight in this arena. There’s a good energy here.”
Rizin 49 served as the Japanese promotion’s traditional year-end event, and as usual, it was quite a spectacle, including an oversized fight card topped by three championship bouts. O’Malley came away impressed with the proceedings.
“The show production was great, the energy in the arena was great, and the ring girls were great,” he said. “My overall impression of Japan was that it was the most enjoyable trip I have ever had. I would love to come back.”
However, O’Malley is less interested in fighting under Rizin’s pride rules, which include kicks to the head and knees of downed opponents. This is because I don’t believe that it necessarily brings out my strengths as a fighter.
“I noticed when I got in the ring, the ring is a lot softer than the UFC. The UFC platform is thinner. It’s going to be a little different,” O’Malley said. “With the ruleset, for me, I feel like I have an advantage if I don’t get kicked in the head because I’m on top of someone. When I get knocked down, I usually end up on my back. So that’s probably not that good for me. But that would be interesting.”
The Octagon has not touched down in Japan since September 2017, when Ovince Saint Preux submitted Yushin Okami in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 117 at Saitama Super Arena. However, RIZIN Chairman Nobuyuki Sakakibara attended UFC 310 on Dec. 7 as a guest, and Dana White expressed interest in hosting another Fight Night event in Japan in the near future.
