Sean O’Malley Has UFC Return Delayed Again

Sean Omalley’s return to the octagon has been moved back from UFC 247 which is scheduled to take place on Feb 7. He’ll now fight Jose Quinonez at UFC 248 on March 7 at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+. No reason was given for this date shift.

O’malley hasn’t fought since March 2018. The 25-year-old rising star was on the cusp of big things before his career came to a halt. By the time he get back in the cage he’ll have sat out for more than two years due to issues with the USADA (US Anti Doping Agency). O’Malley tested positive for banned substance Ostrarine. He was forced out of his UFC 229 fight with future opponent Quinonez and faced a six month ban despite claiming this failure was due to a contaminated dietary supplement. The bantamweight star was set to make his eagerly anticipated return against Marlon Vera at UFC 239 in July 2019. However, he again failed USADA tests for the same substance. It was believed to be a residual effect from his initial fail but nonetheless he was pulled from the card and faced further investigation, although no additional punishment was given.

He’ll face a tough return to the octagon. Quinonez has been active winning five of his last six bouts. His lone defeat came to another rising star in Nathaiel Wood in March 2019. The Mexican got back to winning ways last time out against Carlos Huachin. Quinonez will want to make it two in a row by exploiting any potential ring rus his opponent may have.

UFC 248 is currently without a main event right now. Although Israel Adesanya is expected to make his first middleweight title defence against Yoel Romero on the card. The co-main event will see Weili Zhang face off against Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the 115lb title.