Sean O’Malley wore a COVID-19 mask during a recent faceoff with his Chinese opponent Song Yadong, and the latter has since responded to the gesture. The former UFC bantamweight champion squared up to Yadong as part of the faceoffs at the seasonal press conference leading into UFC 323 to promote their clash at UFC 324.
In what was a relatively subdued press conference effort from someone in O’Malley who has been seen as one of the more charismatic stars in this current age, it seemed like the big play ‘Suga’ had prepared, which some onlookers saw as racist considering the Wuhan, China, connectivity to COVID-19.