Sean O’Malley has faced some criticism for not being more humble in defeat after Chico Vera TKO’d him in the opening round earlier this month, but the outspoken star is continuing to speak his mind regardless and insists that the loss hasn’t phased him.
“I’ve seen a lot of people saying, ‘take your loss like a man,’” O’Malley said in a vlog. “And I don’t get that.
“I lose everyday. I went to jiu-jitsu and trained hard today. And guess what? I got submitted. I lost. I slapped that dude’s hand and said, ‘that was slick, brotha!’”
“On paper, I’m 12-1. I lost August 15th. I’m 12-1. And in my head, I didn’t lose sh-t. I’m 12-0, I didn’t lose. I get that I lost. But mentally, I didn’t lose.”
O’Malley went on to describe in detail how Vera’s calf kick impacted his performance, while essentially claiming that it was a lucky shot.
“If you guys don’t know what a calf kick is, go watch me kick his calf hard. That sh-t hurts. I’ve been dropped by calf kicks in sparring. I remember the first time I ever got calf kicked was by John Moraga. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that hurts really bad.’
“What happened to my foot, I got kicked on the nerve. And Chito’s like, ‘Yeah, I won, I calf kicked him.’ That’s not what happened. He kicked this nerve… I had an ankle brace on, I had my coach loosen it up before we walked out, I’m like, ‘this sh-t’s too tight.’
“The nerve gave me drop foot, and then I sprained my ankle, like four times. And people talking sh-t like, ‘You’re a pussy!’ I’m the same guy that fought with a broken foot, a Lisfranc surgery — a pretty major surgery — for three minutes.
“Did he win? Yes. Am I undefeated? Yes. Mentally, I’m 12-0. I didn’t lose sh-t. I was dominating that fight, I felt superior in there until my foot gave out.”
