Sean O’Malley kept things really simple with Raulian Paiva with a straight knockout in the first round to open up the PPV portion of UFC. Fight fans of Sean at the T-Mobile Arena were completely behind him as he destroyed his Brazilian opposition in the very first round. Whether one could call it a complete drubbing, or smoke out, O’Malley looked as assured as he could be as he dismantled the formerly-ranked flyweight who had moved up to 135 pounds.
Suga, or O’Malley, leaned heavily on his range of outside strikes, where he kept sniping Paiva with one-two combinations and jabs. Paiva, on the other hand, tried to utilize a leg-kick approach, hoping to catch Sean off guard with his history of leg injuries.
Raulian Paiva Gets Floored By Sean O’Malley
With the entire crowd firmly behind Sean O’Malley, the 27-year-old Suga came to life with combos that completely wobbled Raulian Paiva. O’Malley pressed consistently, landing fast and steady punches that kept hurting Paiva. Jason Herzog, the referee for the fight, stepped in at the very moment O’Malley floored his opponent with a violent display of punches.
After the fight, Sean O’Malley confided that he was almost about to pull out of the Raulian Paiva fight due to him dealing with a rib injury. O’Malley also said that he was unable to grapple or spar for three straight weeks leading into the fight. Before the fight, all he could do was run and work his striking combination on a set of mitts.
Paiva, on his part, had his confidence sky-high as he entered UFC 269 with consecutive wins over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kyler Phillips, and Mark De La Rosa. O’Malley thus became the only fighter to stop Paiva head-on in the Brazilian’s eight years as a pro.
Raulian Paiva had previously lost to Rogerio Bontorin a couple of years back, but that was due to a doctor stoppage
