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O’Malley vs. Soukhamthath
Bantamweight
Sean O’Malley (9-0) vs. Andre Soukhamthath (12-5)Advertisement
ANALYSIS: I must say, the odds on this fight surprised me. There is a lot to like about Soukhamthath’s technical, powerful muay Thai style, and he could easily be 3-0 in the UFC, given some questionable judging in his split decision losses to Albert Morales and Alejandro Perez. However, it seems like the undefeated O’Malley is now being critically slept on, perhaps as an unconscious punishment for having earned his UFC entry via the much-mocked Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contenders Series in July.
O’Malley, 23, is a stylish, switch-stance striker, and while his hands-down, in-out, constant-feinting style may seem like a lot of wasted motion, his actual footwork is sharp, allowing him to set up extended punching combinations to the head and body, which in turn activates his varied and often exotic kicking game. In his UFC debut against Terrion Ware in December, he looked momentarily flummoxed in the second round and was surprisingly inactive for several minutes, but it also seemed like it was a function of Ware being a sturdy, technical boxer. The Montana native got his groove back quickly, however, and soundly won the final round and the unanimous nod.
Soukhamthath is an ideal sort of test for the developing “Sugar Sean.” He is a capable striker from all ranges but excels as a counterpuncher, as evidenced in his devastating left-hook knockout of Luke Sanders in December. He has a rugged chin, can fight on the inside and is a better wrestler than you would think given how he prefers to operate. His counter game figures to be aided by O’Malley’s breakneck output, landing a staggering 8.73 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 5.93.
The two sticking points in this fight are O’Malley’s Devil-may-care style of defense -- both in the striking and wrestling departments -- and Soukhamthath’s questionable strategic choices. While O’Malley will give “The Asian Sensation” liberal opportunities to land counter shots, Soukhamthath often clams up and does not pull the trigger, even when his opponents are giving him those opportunities. He has long stretches of inactivity, goes for takedowns at awkward or unsuitable moments in fights and simply undermines himself at critical junctures. If he opens up with his counter shots and smartly chooses moments to hit reactionary takedowns on the charging O’Malley, he may justify being the betting favorite and pick up a big win here. However, even if O’Malley is still rough around the edges and in need of more polishing at the MMA Lab in Arizona, his constant pressure, sudden strike barrages and repertoire of unorthodox attacks figure to force Soukhamthath into stagnation. O’Malley by unanimous decision is the call.
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