One of the unwritten rules of sparring is that you avoid bragging about outdoing a training partner. Those who go against it aren’t really viewed positively.
Bantamweight Sean O’Malley just did exactly that during a recent episode of his podcast with his trainer Tim Welch. “Sugar” Sean boastingly recalled a sparring session he had with flyweight contender Alexandre Pantoja from years back at the MMA Lab facility in Arizona.
“I knocked out Pantoja back in the sparring days at the old Lab,” O’Malley said. “Henry Cejudo yelling at me, ‘pull your punches!