More Sports

Actions

Helena native Sean O'Malley bounces back with KO win at UFC 260

Sean O'Malley
Posted at 9:30 PM, Mar 27, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-28 14:14:46-04

Sean O'Malley is back in the win column.

The Helena native bounced back from his first professional mixed martial arts loss last August with a knockout victory of Thomas Almeida (22-5, 5-5 UFC) in a bantamweight fight at UFC 260 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The win improves O'Malley, 26, to 13-1 in his MMA career and 5-1 in the UFC.

O'Malley knocked out Almeida at the 3:52 mark of the third round after a counter-left punch sent Almeida to the ground. The referee didn't stop the fight, and, after backing off briefly, O'Malley went in with a big right-handed punch that ended the fight and knocked out Almeida.

O'Malley almost ended the fight in the first round with a head kick to Almeida followed by a left-handed punch that sent Almeida down. O'Malley backed off thinking it was a walk-off KO, but the ref kept the fight going, and Almeida got back up and in the fight.

O'Malley out-struck Almeida 86 to 18, including an 82-18 advantage in significant strikes.

The win was O'Malley's ninth knockout victory in his pro MMA career.