Opinion: Nobody likes a teacher’s pet

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media. * * * We’re mere weeks away from the “historical” UFC White House: Freedom 250 event that was supposed to be the best card ever. While I can’t deny it is on paper a fun event, the overhyping of it by Dana White didn’t do the bill any favors. We were being promised filet mignon and ended up with a hamburger. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a dollar menu burger; it’s a damn good burger. But it wasn’t what was promised. Nevertheless, I find it interesting the fighter the Ultimate Fighting Championship put the most time and effort into developing into a star is kind of an afterthought on this card. I won’t go so far as to say Sean O’Malley’s contest with Aiemann Zahabi is the least anticipated bout, but it hasn’t been getting any buzz. In fact, there was quite a bit of disappointment when the match was first announced. If O’Malley was the star the UFC has been grooming him to be, people wouldn’t care whom he was fighting. They would just want to see him in action. Remember when Ronda Rousey fought Bethe Correia? Nobody was tuning into that to see Correia, but no one was upset about the fight either. I bring up O’Malley given he’s the most successful example of the UFC successfully bringing a fighter along. The UFC tabbed O’Malley as a future star from the moment he made his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series and gave him the kind of favorable matchups that made it blatantly obvious they were grooming him to be a future champion. Since O’Malley did end up becoming champ, it clearly worked... to an extent.

Resentment towards UFC's golden boy: Sean O’Malley

Given the UFC’s coddling of him, resentment around O’Malley built up around the fanbase. No one denied his talent, but it was frustrating to see him receiving preferential treatment while someone like Merab Dvalishvili was forced to run a gauntlet before receiving his opportunity to fight for the gold. In fact, it was that gauntlet that Dvalishvili ran -- and doing so with joy -- that turned him into the new golden boy at bantamweight. Dvalishvili may not be the current bantamweight champ, but many still consider him to be the best bantamweight on the planet. That’s because Dvalishvili was all about setting goals that no one had previously accomplished as opposed to ensuring favorable conditions for each fight. Given he was the champion, he could have dictated so much time in between fights. Instead, when the opportunity presented itself for him to be the first UFC titlist to have four successful defenses within a calendar year, he went for it. He came up short, but he didn’t lose any support amongst the fans in the process. Fans respect a fighter who is willing to sacrifice. Whether that’s going through four fight camps and fights in the span of a year or stepping up on short notice to take a bout that would otherwise have been short circuited, there is an appreciation there for one going the extra mile. I can’t think of a time O’Malley has done that. His first -- and only successful -- title defense saw him request getting back his only loss to Marlon Vera despite Vera clearly not being anywhere near the top contender. Who was the top contender? Dvalishvili, who probably should have received the shot before O’Malley anyway, but didn’t out of respect to his teammate, Aljamain Sterling, who was the champion O’Malley took the belt from. Should it be a surprise? No. O’Malley was catered to by the UFC every step of the way. Why would he expect anything different now that he’s the champion? If anything, he would likely be catered to even more once he was possession of the big gold belt. By contrast, Dvalishvili had earned everything the hard way, winning 10 consecutive fights before receiving a title shot. Once he had the belt, he became the UFC’s best friend, filling in on cards as often as possible. Even White admitted he was coming around on Dvalishvili after declaring him boring earlier. That isn’t even bringing up the prospects the UFC pushed hard that faltered. The two most famous examples were Sage Northcutt and Paige Van Zant. Both were exceptionally young when the UFC signed them and didn’t pan out in the least despite the UFC giving them the best opportunities for success. Even worse, particularly for Northcutt, fans turned on them. The UFC brass was so sure Northcutt was a future star, they gave him a coveted spot on the UFC 200 card against someone who was as much of a gimme as possible. It didn’t matter that Northcutt is as nice of a person you will ever meet. He was reviled by the fanbase and always would be. When he essentially had his face broken after leaving the UFC, many celebrated. Northcutt has fought just twice since leaving the UFC eight years ago. VanZant has done some bare knuckle boxing and some slap fighting, but most of her money has been made on OnlyFans. There’s no doubt they had the talent to go further than they went, but it’s hard to believe the scrutiny they received due to the push they received from the UFC didn’t play a part in their lack of success. Assuming that type of mental burden at such a young age is often a detriment. They would have been better off being treated like any other fighter. I understand O’Malley had to win the fights he was put into. He has emerged as a star. But has he reached his full potential? I don’t think so. He won the title in a favorable matchup with favorable circumstances. Who is to say he would have made it to the top if his first “real” loss came before he was champion? When O’Malley lost to Vera, he wasn’t faced with the stark reality that Vera was better than him. He didn’t have to bounce back mentally from being stopped. Needing to make the necessary adjustments prior to reaching the top likely would have been beneficial for him in the long run. It’s harder to make adjustments once you’ve reached the peak. In the two fights O’Malley has had since losing the title, I’m not sure he can make those changes. If nothing else, the UFC will prevent fans from actively rooting against fighters by not coddling them. Even if the teacher’s pet is more “talented” than the other students, no one likes the teacher’s pet. It’s about time the UFC figured it out.