Video: Sean O'Connell on Matt Van Buren's inability to take a UFC weigh-ins joke

Sean O’Connell was just trying to “do something funny” when he touched Matt Van Buren’s nose at the weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 59.

When UFC President Dana White jumped in between the two fighters in an attempt to make sure the situation didn’t escalate, it gave MMA fans the impression that there was more to the situation than that, according to the light heavyweight.

“As a professional courtesy, I told Ryan Jimmo for my first fight, we should do something funny. I told Gian Villante in New Zealand I wanted to do something funny,” O’Connell (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) said after his win at the event, which took place Sunday at TD Garden in Boston.

“I told Matt Van Buren, ‘Hey, it’s kind of my thing: I like to goof around at the weigh-ins. I’m gonna do something funny.’ And he said, ‘Uhhh, uhhh, OK.’ I tried to make it an ad-libbity (tap on the nose), and everyone tries to make it a tense situation. The fight is picked. … I thought it would be funny. He didn’t laugh, but I don’t really care.”

Van Buren (6-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) would take the fight to O’Connell from the opening bell, using his superior height to outstrike his foe. As O’Connell survived barrage after barrage of big punches and a large amount of heavy knees to the body, he eventually started to land some heavy looping punches that began to badly rock Van Buren.

“I was sloppy to start this fight out,” O’Connell said. “I didn’t move my head properly. He did a great job of keeping me off, moving his head, moving his feet, really roping me in to taking more punishment than I’m proud to take. What happened in there was nothing new. I knew if I could move a little and land on his chin, he’d go down.”

The ending was inevitable in O’Connell’s mind.

“I just kept swinging, and kept landing,” O’Connell said. “I was pounding his face, and he didn’t want to stay down. But ultimately, you hit a guy enough times, he’s going to go down.”

Check out the full interview above.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Events section of the site.