Sean O’Malley considers UFC champion Islam Makhachev to be “the greatest fighter currently”

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] has given UFC colleagues [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] his flowers.

Bantamweight champion O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), who defends his title against Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) on September 14 in the main event of UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas, has set his sights on becoming the greatest of all time.

When asked who he thinks is the best fighter currently, O’Malley shared the same opinion as the panel responsible for the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings: Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC), who is currently tied for all-time with three lightweight title defenses.

“Best fighter right now? Probably Islam (Makhachev),” O’Malley told Helen Yee. “I mean, Jon Jones is right up there. I think Jon has fought once in the last four, five years. Jon Jones is one of the best of all time, but who is the best right now? So who has been active in the last four years or so, I think it’s Islam, but Jon Jones will always be in the conversation.”

O’Malley not only wants to be the best fighter of all time, he also aspires to be the biggest star.

“Right now it’s Conor McGregor, 100 percent,” O’Malley told ESPN of who the biggest star is. “He’s a douchebag, but it’s the truth. To get there, I’ve got to go out there and knock out Merab, I go to ’45, I’ve beaten Ilia (Topuria), I’ve beaten Max (Holloway), I’ve beaten Umar (Nurmagomedov), I’m three fights away from being considered one of the greatest of all time, one of the most exciting of all time. There’s a difference.

“Nobody thinks Conor is the greatest fighter of all time. He lacked skill. He lacked title defenses, but as far as entertainment goes, he’s the best in the world. As far as entertainment goes, he was the best. The greatest fighter of all time, Jon Jones, Khabib (Nurmagomedov), Islam, (all) up there. I want to be both. I want to be one of the greatest of all time and one of the most entertaining of all time. That’s my goal.”

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For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley considers UFC champion Islam Makhachev to be the “greatest fighter today”