The Sean O’Malley height and reach factor could decide Aiemann Zahabi UFC White House fight
Four inches of reach and three inches of height is the gap that could swing this bantamweight bout on the White House South Lawn, and it’s the main reason why I see Sean O’Malley as the favorite over Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250, despite him threatening to pull out at one point.
O’Malley stands 5’11” with a 72″ reach, Zahabi at 5’8″ and 68″. This is a striking matchup between two men who would both rather kickbox than wrestle, and that’s the single biggest edge on the tale of the tape. O’Malley opened at around a -430 favorite, with Zahabi a +300 underdog, even with the Canadian fighter carrying a seven-fight win streak into the octagon tonight.
Tale of the tape
| Sean O’Malley | Aiemann Zahabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 19-3 (1 NC) | 14-2 |
| Height | 5’11” | 5’8″ |
| Reach | 72″ | 68″ |
| Stance | Switch | Orthodox |
| Avg fight time | 11:32 | 12:07 |
| DOB | Oct 24, 1994 | Nov 19, 1987 |
Sean O’Malley Reach and kickboxing quality
O’Malley lands 6.05 significant strikes per minute at 60% accuracy, which are numbers that are likely to climb when he’s facing a shorter opponent that he can pepper from range. Zahabi sits at 4.54 per minute and 47% accuracy. The Canadian is sharper defensively and far harder to take down, but neither man wants this on the mat. O’Malley’s takedown average is a token 0.24 per 15 minutes, which Zahabi’s is 0.12. This is a kickboxing match in four-ounce gloves, and the taller, longer, more accurate striker usually wins those. Still, this should be a firefight and is a dark horse for the best on the UFC White House card.
| Striking / grappling | O’Malley | Zahabi |
|---|---|---|
| Sig. strikes landed/min | 6.05 | 4.54 |
| Striking accuracy | 60% | 47% |
| Sig. strikes absorbed/min | 3.40 | 4.08 |
| Striking defense | 60% | 69% |
| Takedown defense | 60% | 83% |
| Submission avg/15 min | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Where Zahabi can win
Despite everything I’ve just said, you absolutely should not write off Zahabi completely. He’s on 14-2 with a streak that includes wins over Marlon Vera, Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz. All of those wins were by decision, against legit top tier bantamweight competition, so he is no pushover and could pull off an upset tonight. He does absorb more than O’Malley (4.08 SApM), but he just keeps walking forward.
O’Malley’s chin is still ib question after the Dvalishvili submission and a recent knockdown scare, so if Zahabi is able to close the distance, make it ugly, and drags O’Malley into deep water across rounds two and three, the upset is right there for the taking.
But, O’Malley does his best work against pressure, where he can keep at the end of a jab and a teep. Against Vera, he set a bantamweight record with 230 significant strikes. Zahabi has to somehow try and walk through that sort of output tonight, and at 38, eating 72 inches of reach for 15 minutes is a tall order.
My pick
O’Malley by decision. The reach controls the spacing, the volume piles up on the cards, and Zahabi’s likeliest path, a finish, means he is going to be running into one of the best defensive strikers he’s faced in his career so far. Zahabi has more than earned the spotlight here, but I think the height and reach of O’Malley will carry him through on the White House South Lawn.
Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator for NationalWorld. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012. His work has also been featured on Wrestling Headlines, Wrestlingnewsco, HotNewHipHop, The Hard Times and Sportskeeda.
Previously, he worked as the Editor in Chief of 24Wrestling, building the site profile with a view to selling the domain, which was accomplished in 2019. Jake was previously the Editor in Chief for FightFans, a combat sports and pro wrestling site that was launched in January 2021 and broke into millions of pageviews within the first two years. He previously worked for Snack Media and their GiveMeSport site, creating Evergreen and Trending content that would deliver pageviews via Google as the UFC and MMA SEO Lead. Jake managed to take an area of GiveMeSport that had zero traction on Organic and push it to audiences across the globe. Jake also has a record of long-term video and written interview content with the likes of the Professional Fighters League, ONE and Cage Warriors, working directly with the brands to promote bouts, fighters and special events.
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