Morning Report: Sean O'Malley ready to move up to lightweight for 'legendary' fight with Conor McGregor

Sean O'Malley wants big fights.

UFC 299 was a great night for the Sugar Show this past March. In the evening's main event, 135-pound titleholder O'Malley avenged his loss to the only man to defeat him in his MMA career, Marlon “Chito” Vera, as he scored a knockout en route to a unanimous decision.

O'Malley, 29, is likely to face clear top contender Merab Dvalishvili next, but he continues to consider other wild possibilities. Ahead of his recent victory, O'Malley hinted that he could attempt to become a two-division champion by challenging undefeated featherweight king (15-0) Ilia Topuria. Other names on O'Malley's target list included top boxers Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis. Speaking of Garcia, just last week Conor McGregor was upset by the news of Garcia testing positive for drugs, which led to the accidental shooting of O'Malley. Now, for the bantamweight champion, these are the “idols of the rivals”, and the idea of ​​the “infamous” fight is impossible to refuse, despite the difference in size.

“He’s great today,” O’Malley said of McGregor in an interview. Bradley Martin Rough Talk. “I'm pretty realistic when it comes to the big guys. I'm like, okay, I'm 35 years old. I stay in my lane and do my thing. I could go up to 45, I would fight “The Wolf” (Alexander Volkanovski), I would fight Max (Holloway), I would fight Ilia, but I stay on my lane.

“Conor is one of the few guys I would fight, and I’m as big as the bastard. I would have just fought him in '55. Firstly, this is a huge salary, and secondly, this is Conor. It would be legendary. So he’s one of those rare guys that I would fight that is well outside my weight class.”

It's been three years since McGregor last set foot in the Octagon and sadly left him on a stretcher after breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier. However, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion is not going to end his career there. McGregor, 36, will return against Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout at UFC 303 on June 29.

O'Malley vs. McGregor is a prospect all things considered, and even his hopeful dream of fighting Topuria faded with Holloway in hot pursuit of “El Matador.” Ultimately, all options are difficult for Sugar at this point. However, he believes it's easier with boxers, but appreciates some antics like the ones Garcia saw before his recent majority decision over Devin Haney.

When it comes to actual disagreements or issues with people, O'Malley says they have his back. It's all fun and games with the current stream of names he pokes and prods at.

“Ilya is a tough fight, Max is a tough fight, Merab is a tough fight,” O’Malley said. “At this point in my career, there is literally no easy fight other than Ryan Garcia.

“I liked the preparation (for his last fight). I thought he fucking crushed it, whether he was crazy or faking it, I loved it. This got me very interested in the fight. What he wrote and tweeted, how he behaved after that, I'm here for it. The reason I like Conor so much is because he has such a damn personality. He's such a different person. Ryan is doing it right now. I like it. I think it's pretty damn cool.

“I can't think of a single person who has real beef,” he concluded. “Chito and I are at odds, but I beat him 50 to 44, so it’s pretty hard to beat him. Gervonta Davis, the boxers that I like to talk trash to just because they're like that – they're like, “Yeah, but I could box you.” Yes, but I can kill you, quickly. Talking (to them) is quite fun.”

---

Plans. Mike Perry Unsure Darren Till Fight Will Happen, Teases Interest in Caleb Plant: 'Come on, Motherfuckers'

Forecast. Dan Hardy picks Conor McGregor to beat Michael Chandler: 'There's such finesse to his game'

Forward. Matt Brown tears up as he tells UFC he's retiring: 'A part of you is dying'

Movement. MMA Pound-for-Pound ranking: Jon Jones falls out of top 5

Champions. Alexander Pantoja dreams of fighting flyweight “GOAT” Demetrious Johnson

---

MMA Fighting's Damon Martin talks with Matt Brown.

Sound and pound.

UFC Connected: Shawn Woodson.

Free fight.

RIZIN 46 Complete battles.

From the archive.

GSP in Bangtao.

---

Damn morning. MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reacts to Corey Sandhagen's warning against Umar Nurmagomedov, UFC 301 fallout.

---

Let's have a metal rave.

Head over to Twitter, use the hashtag #MorningReport or find one of my tweets with it and let me know what you're loving right now. I will select the best from my daily selection and greet you! You can also share in the comments below – sometimes they're harder to figure out!

---

Poor guy.

DDP can do it all.

Respect.

Blocked in.

Time to sleep.

Seeker of revenge.

Let's get back to this.

Stamping.

---

I don't know if “legendary” is the right word to describe this hypothetical matchup, but it would be absurd and interesting purely for the absurdity and where each of them are currently in their careers.

Thanks for reading!

---

---

If you find something you'd like to see in this morning's report, give us a call. @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and give us a like Facebook.