Sean O'Malley added another violent highlight to his reel Saturday.
At UFC 260, O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) put on a striking clinic for two rounds before he blasted Thomas Almeida with a violent knockout sequence late in Round 3.
The bantamweight bout was part of the UFC 260 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
O’Malley set the pace early as he stalked Almeida (22-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) around the cage. Late in Round 1, O’Malley landed a violent head kick on Almeida, who somehow ate it without going down. Immediately thereafter, O’Malley connected with a left hand, which floored Almeida. But the walk-off moment O’Malley expected wasn’t there – yet. Almeida survived the round, but wouldn’t make it to the end of the fight.
After another dominant round from O’Malley in Round 2, the fight ended in Round 3. With less than two minutes left in the round, Almeida moved in and ate a short left hand that sent Almeida tumbling. As Almeida rolled over, seemingly disoriented, he was met by a violent knockout blow.
THE SUGAR SHOW 🗣
📺 @SugaSeanMMA adds another highlight to the reel! #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/vbX1aWPzse
— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2021
With the victory, O’Malley re-entered the win column after a loss to Marlon Vera this past August at UFC 252. He added Almeida’s name to a resume that also includes Eddie Wineland, Jose Quinonez, Andre Soukhamthath and Terrion Ware.
For Almeida, the loss was his fourth straight. He has not won a fight since he defeated Albert Morales at UFC Fight Night 100 in November 2016. UFC 260 marked the third time Almeida has lost by knockout in his promotional tenure.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 260 results include:
- Sean O’Malley def. Thomas Almeida via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 3:52
- Miranda Maverick def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jamie Mullarkey def. Khama Worthy via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:46
- Alonzo Menifield def. Fabio Cherant via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 1, 1:11
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Modestas Bukauskas via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Omar Morales def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Marc-Andre Barriault def. Abu Azaitar via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:56
