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.
No hiatus! @SugaShowMMA is still must-watch TV 🍿 #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/8suwpRzruB
— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2021
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.
SEAN TRIED THE WALK OFF BUT IT'S NOT OVER 🤯 #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/nJtVxGOqN8
— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2021
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.
