Sean O’Malley does not have any place for Khabib Nurmagomedov in his UFC Mount Rushmore. The former UFC bantamweight fighter believes his protege Islam Makhachev is more deserving of it because of how well-rounded he is.
The most common names that pop up when this question arises are Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, and ‘The Eagle’. However, only one of these names made it to O’Malley’s list because he also believes the entertainment aspect is a big criterion.
The former UFC bantamweight champion recently appeared on the Join The Lobby podcast on YouTube to talk about everything from gaming to the UFC.
While on the podcast, Faze Clan’s Matcrakz asked ‘Suga’ who his UFC Mount Rushmore was and he started by talking about how Islam Makhachev ranks higher than Khabib Nurmagomedov,
“I feel like Islam above Khabib for me….I think he’s just more well-rounded and I think he already has more title defenses than Khabib….He just fights more often.”
He then went on to talk about how there should be two different Mount Rushmores — one based on skill level, and the other based on entertainment value.
In the latter, he named Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather as the two best entertainers in combat sports history.
All this talk is not important at the moment though, what fans want to know is when the ‘Suga‘ Show will return to the UFC.
O’Malley reveals his UFC return date
O’Malley has an ideal date and venue set for his UFC return. The former champ recently underwent surgery for his hip and is currently resting.
He will not be able to train for a while now and it will be months before he can even think of stepping into the octagon again. In a recent episode of the Ariel Helwani Show on YouTube, he revealed his return date,
“Give me Miami that’s what I want next. I’m just trying to put this out in the universe….I’m saying March or April…I want Merab next, I know I’m better than him, I want to right that wrong.”
The ‘Suga’ Show is slated to make a comeback in March or April 2025 and in his first fight back he wants to take on the current champion.
He wants to take revenge for his loss and get his belt back. It will be interesting to see if the champ waits for his return or if he takes on another fight till O’Malley can come back.
Dvalishvili doesn’t have a lack of opponents to fight. There are a lot of big names in the division who are eyeing his title.