Sean O'Malley surprised Petr Yan is a 4-1 favorite at UFC 280: 'I believe I'm better'

Sean O'Malley doesn’t agree with the betting odds for his upcoming fight against Petr Yan.

According to Tipico Sportsbook, O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is a +280 underdog heading into his bout with former bantamweight champion Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.

Yan marks a big step up in competition for O’Malley, but the 27-year-old thinks being nearly a 3-1 underdog is not an accurate reflection of how he sees the matchup playing out.

“I think if you asked the smartest guys, the best fighters in the world, ‘What do you guys think?’ they’re like, ‘God, I don’t know, it’s a tough one,'” O’Malley said in an interview with Helen Yee. “But if you ask the casuals, it’s like, ‘Oh, Petr is going to smoke him. He’s a 3-1 underdog or whatever.’ I’m a little surprised, but also I kind of get it from other people’s perspective. But I believe I’m better than Petr Yan, and I believe I’m going to go out there and beat his ass, so I guess I am kind of surprised.

“I’m so excited for this opportunity. I believe Petr will bring the best out of me. I thought Pedro Munhoz was going to. People talk about that fight – wasn’t blah, blah, blah. He didn’t hit me once. It wasn’t going his way, let’s just say that. But I do think Petr will bring the best out of me, and it’s going to be an exciting fight.”

Daniel Cormier said former UFC lightweight champion and Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov had high praise for O’Malley’s skills, which “The Suga Show” appreciates, but thinks is very telling.

“Like I said about the high-level fighters when they talk about me vs. Petr, I think high-level fighters see I’m a legit motherf*cker,” O’Malley said. “I’m not just fancy and do this crazy sh*t. I have legitimate skills. So it was really cool, hearing something like that from Khabib. He’s one of the GOATs, so that was really cool.”