UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley holds three current MMA fighters in high esteem when discussing the sport’s all-time great strikers.
O’Malley is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili later this year in his latest UFC bantamweight title defense. He most recently defeated Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 main event by unanimous decision after capturing the belt last August.
O’Malley is regarded by many as one of the top strikers in fighting today, boxing or MMA. His recent clinic against Vera further cemented his spot as one of the toughest standup puzzles to solve.
While O’Malley isn’t afraid to prop up his accomplishments with his striking, he put three elite current titleholders in his striking ‘Mount Rushmore’.
Sean O’Malley’s ‘Mount Rushmore’ of all-time MMA strikers
In a recent appearance on the BS w/ Jake Paul podcast, O’Malley shared who he feels are the Top 4 strikers in UFC history, including himself.
- Israel Adesanya
- Max Holloway
- Ilia Topuria
- Sean O’Malley
Israel Adesanya is set to return at UFC 305 in Perth against middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis. He hasn’t fought since a loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September.
Adesanya has finished top strikers such as Paulo Costa and Alex Pereira during his UFC tenure. Before making the full-time transition to MMA, he was a Glory Kickboxing superstar.
Max Holloway and UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria have been linked to a potential clash for later this year. Holloway earned the BMF title at UFC 300, and Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the belt at UFC 298.
Holloway set the UFC record for significant strikes landed in a fight against Calvin Kattar in 2021. He’s earned back-to-back knockouts over Gaethje and The Korean Zombie in the Octagon.
Topuria is also one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, winning his first 15 professional fights. He’s knocked out Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, and Jai Herbert during his UFC tenure.
O’Malley isn’t one to put himself below anyone else when it comes to marketability, although he feels his ‘Mount Rushmore’ of strikers adds the best competition to his sharp rise.
