Why was O’Malley fight a no contest?

The UFC 276 main-card bout between Monster Energy fighter O’Malley and Munhoz on July 2, 2022, ended in unfortunate circumstances.

Sean O’Malley poked Pedro Munhoz’s eye unintentionally during the fight and as a result, the fight was declared a no contest.

No contest is a technical term used in some combat sports to describe a fight that ends without a winner or loser due to circumstances beyond the fighters’ control.

O’Malley poked Pedro in the eye with his outstretched left hand in Round 2, impairing his vision, and the bout was stopped at 3:09 after advice from the cage-side doctor in the opening bout of the UFC 276 pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena.

The abrupt finish came after a largely insignificant eight minutes of action in this 135-pound bout in which Munhoz (19-7, 2 NC) circled from the outside due to height and reach disadvantages of five inches against O’Malley (15-1, 1 NC).

The Brazilian’s offence was almost entirely comprised of calf kicks, many of which the 27-year-old O’Malley was able to intercept.