UFC's Pedro Munhoz: 'It was shady' how Sean O'Malley handled eye-poke fallout, but no hard feelings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Pedro Munhoz can see clearly that Sean O'Malley was being “shady” in the aftermath of their fight, but he’s not holding any grudges.

Munhoz returns Saturday at UFC on ESPN 44 from T-Mobile Center, where he’ll take on Chris Gutierrez on the main card. It’s Munhoz’s first action in nine months, when an inadvertent eye poke from O’Malley ended their UFC 276 bantamweight bout in a no contest in Round 2.

On Wednesday at UFC on ESPN 44 media day, Munhoz opened up about his recovery and the backlash he received on social media for not finishing the fight despite the fact he couldn’t see out of one eye.

“It took me completely two months to be able to train a hundred percent again,” Munhoz told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “It was kind of an injury that, it doesn’t seem too aggravating for the people outside, but you being there and literally not being able to see is something (to worry about). …

“I’ve been in this sport a long time and fought many people, but that was definitely the first time that I got so much hate on social media.”

Part of that hate from fight fans was fueled by O’Malley, who said during his post-fight news conference that Munhoz “100 percent” was looking for a way out. According to Munhoz, O’Malley had a different attitude about the situation when they spoke inside the octagon after the fight.

“I don’t know him on a personal level, but it says a lot when a person apologizes to you in the octagon for poking you in the eye – so it was something he was aware of – but then on the other hand he goes and makes fun of the situation,” Munhoz said. “I come from a generation of the sport where we fight for the honor and not much for the crowd, not much for that situation that you make fun of people, even though that he’s aware he hurt me, and goes behind to make fun just to get followers. It was shady.”

While Munhoz doesn’t appreciate the way things played out, he’s mostly taking the high road on the situation.

“No, I don’t have any bad feelings,” Munhoz said. “It is what it is. He has his way of seeing things, I have my way of seeing things, and I wish him the best.”

Aside from the no contest with O’Malley, Munhoz had lost four of his previous five bouts. He’s looking for his first win since February 2021 on Saturday against Gutierrez, who is on an eight-fight unbeaten streak with one draw.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.