King Green Sends Message to Sean O'Malley After Brutal Tommy McMillen Assessment
King Green has spotted a fatal flaw in Tommy McMillen's game after his UFC Noche showdown, which is costing him heavily.
Tommy McMillen may have retained his undefeated crown at Noche UFC, but it didn't come without a cost. While his offensive advantage earned him the unanimous decision win, Marwan Rahiki inflicted significant damage too. King Green believes that's not something "Gun" can afford if he wants to reach the division's top.
King Green Offers to Work with Sean O'Malley's Protege
A three-round battle saw a flurry of exchanges between the featherweights, with a stinging uppercut putting McMillen on the canvas in the second round. While "Gun" retaliated with a knockdown of his in the third, the damage has prompted the UFC lightweight veteran to help tighten the featherweight prospect's game.
"Sean, bring him by. Let me work with Tommy. Let me sharpen him up a little bit. He's taking too many shots," Green shared via Instagram, calling on McMillen's longtime teammate, Sean O'Malley.
In fact, the striking menace believes defense might be the only caveat limiting the featherweight's potential. Green added, "We can minimize some of that damage; they'll go far."
McMillen landed 89 of 237 significant strikes (38%) while absorbing 79 blows from Rahiki. Moreover, the uppercut in the second round clearly rocked "Gun", who was then bombarded with a barrage of knees from the Moroccan, desperately hunting the finish. Although McMillen refused to go out, he was left in survival mode, relying only on his strong chin.
This pattern holds across his entire UFC career. His fighting profile reports an impressive 11.13 significant strikes landed per minute. However, the rising prospect also concedes 5.06 strikes in the same time, with his striking defense sitting at 58%.
Green was not the first to identify these jarring gaps in McMillen's game.
Dominick Cruz's Pre-Fight Assessment
Before the fight between the featherweights even went down, former UFC star and sports analyst Dominick Cruz had already noticed McMillen's tendency to use offense as his only defense.
"McMillan, I think is also pure offense, not a ton of defense, and an offensive like non-stop. Look at these crazy combinations you're seeing out of this guy (Rahiki). It's so quick. I mean, he's throwing six-seven punch combos, double spinning heel kicks. Like what is McMillan going to do with that?" Cruz had warned via his YouTube channel.
Cruz highlighted McMillen's willingness to exchange shots from the pocket, even if it means eating blows in return. Although that's surely entertaining for the fans, that's definitely not sustainable in the long run.
With 'Bobby's invitation now hanging in the air, it'll be interesting to see McMillen's trajectory in his next fight. Gun wants to be back for UFC 335 happening in December at T-Mobile Arena.
