Sean O’Malley has been awarded the UFC Performance of the Year for 2023 following his impressive second-round TKO win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. With this win, O’Malley was able to snap Sterling’s nine-fight unbeaten streak, ultimately securing the bantamweight champion title and achieving his lifelong dream.
However, O’Malley’s recent award has led to confusion among fans, who believe that UFC CEO Dana White should have awarded the Performance of the Year to Sean Strickland instead. Strickland’s victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 is considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC title fight history, with Strickland dominating the former two-time champion for all five rounds, which led to a unanimous decision win. White defended his choice in a recent video posted to the UFC Instagram page, stating that despite the many great fights and performances, he had to go with O’Malley’s performance.
Fans shared their thoughts in the comments section, expressing their dissatisfaction with White’s decision. Some of the responses included “Sean O’Malley is just pure glazing,” “Sean Strickland deserves performance of the year!” and “C’Mon Dana DeSean was the only right answer here.”
In other news, Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis are set to headline UFC 297 next weekend, where they will face off for the middleweight title. Strickland is currently a -125 favorite on the betting lines, but Du Plessis has a history of surpassing expectations. With a recent stunning upset victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, Du Plessis will be entering the fight against Strickland with full confidence. However, the champion should not be underestimated, as Strickland recently defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to win the title.
Sean O’Malley also shared his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 297 main event, stating, “If Sean Strickland shows up like he did against [Adesanya], I think he beats [Du Plessis]… Five [five-minute rounds] against Strickland is a nightmare…I just have a feeling that Strickland gets the job done.”
