UFC Boss Discusses Futures of Sean O’Malley, Cody Garbrandt in Aftermath of UFC 269

Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt once appeared to be on a collision course in the Octagon. While they may yet meet, their fighting careers are currently headed in two very different directions.

O’Malley won for the seventh time in eight promotional appearances, scoring a first-round stoppage of Raulian Paiva in a bantamweight clash at UFC 269 on Saturday night. One bout later, Garbrandt was finished inside of a round by Kai Kara France in his flyweight debut — his fourth defeat in his last five outings.

O’Malley has been handled carefully thus far by UFC matchmakers, but White says the Contender Series alum has earned a step up in competition with his latest performance.

“The guy he beat tonight is a real guy, a very real guy,” White said at the UFC 269 post-fight press conference. “And he did it tonight in spectcualr fashion. When you talk to him, two things: He wants to get paid and he wants to fight higher level competition.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to pay him and get him some fights.”

Garbrandt, however, struggled since a meteoric rise to the top of the bantamweight division. The loss to Kara France was a missed opportunity, because “No Love” is still a popular figure within the promotion and could have received a quick push to the top of the 125-pound weight class with a victory.

White admitted he isn’t sure what direction to take with the former champion.

“I don’t know,” White said. “You move down a weight class and you get knocked out down a weight class. He’s been clipped a few times now.”