Former UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is known for his funny social media videos, but his latest skit is a little questionable.
In a new video posted to X, O’Malley instructs fans and his fighting peers alike on the proper way to poke eyeballs. According to “Suga,” most eye pokes are landed with the lead hand, which isn’t nearly as devastating as a full power rear hand gouge. Using a BOB punching bag for the demonstration, O’Malley shows how to setup this fight-changing connection.
“Use at
your own risk,” O’Malley warns.
Obviously, this video is satirical, a commentary on the Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane “No Contest” that is dominating the airwaves, as well as the general consensus that fouling is legal in MMA. I’m not sure, however, that Sean O’Malley is the ideal ambassador to make such a joke. After all, he was struggling a bit with Pedro Munhoz until an O’Malley eye poke ended the fight in similar circumstance to the Heavyweight title mishap.
Like it or not, eye pokes have a long history in cage fighting even amongst champions. Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones are two of the all-time great Light Heavyweights, yet both have a known history of eye pokes. It’s an open secret, and still referees are hesitant to take points or label eye pokes intentional. There’s definitely a large portion of outraged fans, but an equal number are quick to blame the poked fighter.
Even after UFC 321, the situation feels unlikely to change — we’ve tried nothing, and we’re all out of ideas!
