UFC Freedom 250 results: Sean O'Malley hits walk-off salute after monster KO of Aiemann Zahabi on White House lawn
· Yahoo Sports
Sean O’Malley dropped Aimann Zahabi twice in as many seconds as he shrugged off the Canadian’s low kicks to secure a stunning, walk-off second-round knockout at UFC Freedom 250 — all while saluting in the nation’s capital.
It all went down Sunday on the South Lawn of The White House in Washington, D.C., with O’Malley hastily exiting the cage to fist-bump the commentary booth, before wishing U.S. President Donald Trump a happy 80th birthday for good measure.
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“That was the plan,” the American former UFC bantamweight champion said after his win. “I said it, it’s out there.”
O’Malley, a product of Dana White's Contender Series, showed elite striking, range-finding, and finishing ability on the most spectacular of stages at the UFC Freedom 250 show.
He absorbed Zahabi’s inside low kicks but switched stances when the Canadian fighter kept landing those shots on the same leg. While Zahabi spammed that one move, O’Malley had more to offer as he threw two-to-three shot combinations and came alive in the final 30 seconds of the opening round, having seemingly found his range.
It was not long after the one-minute break that Zahabi went back to the inside low kicks, his primary weapon, in stark contrast to O’Malley’s double jabs and striking flurries.
After baiting Zahabi into throwing the strike with his feinting, O’Malley found his best sequences — a three-shot combination, a huge right hand, and finally the finishing shots.
O’Malley hit Zahabi with a thudding straight left to drop his opponent. And while Aimann scrambled to his feet, O’Malley hit him again with a right before he could even stand, dropping him once more.
Before the referee could even withdraw Zahabi from the bout, O’Malley stood still and saluted — a walk-off fitting for the environment in which he’d won.
“He was running around throwing those little leg kicks,” O’Malley said, dismissing Zahabi’s tactics. “They didn’t do a whole lot. We had the best game plan.”
Describing his finishing strikes as “sexy,” O’Malley quickly turned to what’s next.
“Petr Yan,” he said of the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, who he previously defeated in 2022. “That’s who I want.”
For more on UFC Freedom 250, check out Uncrowned's fight night hub here.