Issue 175

January 2019

2018 was an interesting year for UFC's bantamweight division and "Sugar" Sean O'Malley is undoubtedly one of the breakout stars.

The 25-year-old, Sean O’Malley burst onto the scene when he featured on the second series of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series and knocked out Alfred Khashakyan in spectacular fashion inside one round. His performance had UFC president Dana White jumping out of his seat and he was signed to a UFC contract before leaving the building that evening.

Having gone on to win his official UFC debut against Terrion Ware in December 2017, O’Malley kicked off his year with another win against Andre Soukhamthath last March at UFC 222.

2018 looked like it was going to be the year where O’Malley would make some big strides up the UFC 135-pounds division, but unfortunately, the second half of the year didn’t turn out quite the way he expected it to.

“When I look back on 2018 I think I made the impact I wanted to,” O’Malley explains, speaking exclusively to Fighters Only. “But I would be lying if I said it went perfectly. If you look back earlier on in my career and when I was an amateur, I was fighting like three or four times a year. I knew that wasn’t going to be possible after breaking my foot in March at the end of the fight. After going through that surgery, which was the first major one of my career, I went back into fight camp a little too soon and my foot was still really messed up.

“At the time I also had a torn labrum, but I was at the press conference when they announced Conor McGregor vs Khabib and I begged Dana to put me on the card,” he continues. “I went through that and it was the worst fight camp of my life. I knew I had to go out there and knock him out in the first round.”

Unfortunately, injuries turned out to be the least of O’Malley’s problems. Despite being willing to push through the pain barrier to face Jose? Alberto Quinonez on October 6 at UFC 229, O’Malley had to pull out of the fight after receiving a very unwelcome phone call.

“In the middle of all those injuries I got a call from USADA,” O’Malley recalls. “They let me know that I failed a test on September 5 for a substance called Ostarine. I didn’t know what it was and I was like, ‘How is this even possible?’ I didn’t understand but my lawyers have told me that it’s very popular, popping up in tests like that. I tested positive for 0.08 mg of Ostarine which is a very, very tiny amount.

“Everyone knows that I didn’t take anything,” he continues. “The only people saying I did are some of the fans who don’t really know what they’re talking about. The UFC has been really cool trying to help me figure it out and it’s up to the lawyers now to help me prove my innocence.”

The process O’Malley has to go through to prove his innocence isn’t simple. In addition to a 6-month backdated Nevada State Athletic Commission suspension, O’Malley will have to provide USADA with a hair sample in a bid to prove that he didn’t knowingly take the substance. If he’s unable to do so, O’Malley could be facing a two-year ban and a substantial amount of time out of the Octagon.

“I’m all natural and I don’t take anything I shouldn’t take,” O’Malley asserts. “Anyone whose has listened to my podcast with Tim Welch will know that I’m obsessed with living naturally and staying healthy. I’ve had to send in a sample of all the supplements that I’ve taken and it costs $1,000 to test just one of them. I take 13 supplements so that’s $13,000.

“I’ll be honest with you, it’s all been really hard to deal with,” he continues. “I hope it just figures itself out. I know and I hope that I’m not going to get a bad rep for taking steroids because I haven’t and that’s just not me.”

Dealing with his injuries and his USADA issue put a lot of pressure on O’Malley’s young shoulders, but it’s not all been bad news. Life outside of the Octagon has gone well for the MMA Lab fighter and he’s been making more money than he ever imagined he would do at this point his career.

“Dealing with the USADA thing and having to have another surgery on my hip this year has been very stressful,” O’Malley reasons. “Saying that, it’s also been very successful. On one night, March 3, I made more money than I ever have in my life and my social media just blew up. I run my social media like a business. The more followers I get, then the more money I’m making from sponsors.

“I got screwed out of a big payday on October 6 by USADA, but hopefully that will soon all be resolved,” he adds. “I’m happy with the year as a whole, but I know it could’ve been better and I know better things are to come.”

Whilst frustrated he won’t be in the Octagon in the short term, O’Malley still has plenty to keep him busy outside of fight camps. His ever growing social media following and sizeable subscriber base on Twitch has added new income streams to his fighting career and is helping him overcome the twin challenges he’s facing from USADA and his injuries. 

“At the moment I’m just doing some upper body lifting,” O’Malley declares. “It’s easy to get pumped up for something like wrestling, jiu-jitsu or boxing or anything like that, but for me, it’s very hard to get motivated to go lift. I know it will benefit my fighting, but it’s just not the same.

“I’m also doing this podcast with Tim and really trying to build that up with my social media,” he continues. “I also play a lot of Fortnite and stream on Twitch and that’s really cool. I just love interacting with the fans on there and they ask me a load of questions. We just have a lot of fun on there so it’s a nice distraction for me at the moment.”

With the end of 2018 fast approaching, there’s no shortage of talk about the standout moments of the year. One of the most frequently talked about we will be the end of O’Malley’s fight with Soukhamthath at UFC 222 where he broke his foot and managed to negotiate the latter stages of the final round to see out a unanimous decision victory. For O’Malley, facing the adversity head-on was a big moment for him personally as it showed he could still keep a level head in the most difficult of circumstances.

“I think a lot of people don’t give Andre Soukhamthath the credit that he deserves,” O’Malley argues. “I think he’s extremely good I know now even more than he is. I knew heading into the fight that I was way faster than him and I knew I would go in there and outclass him.

“I was very upset that I didn’t get the finish but I was pleased at the way that I reacted to the whole situation with my foot,” he continues. “Not for a split second did I ever think about giving up and I was pleased with the way I handled it. I proved to a lot of people that I’m not going in there and throwing random stuff. I’m a well-rounded fighter and I got to show everyone what I’m all about. I’m dangerous on the ground and on the feet.”

Before injuring his foot in the fight with Soukhamthath, O’Malley was able to showcase his diverse array of striking techniques and submissions. Training out of the MMA Lab in Glendale, Arizona, O’Malley has worked tirelessly alongside his friend and coach, Tim Welch to incorporate elements of several different fighting styles and moves into his arsenal.

“I literally take little bits and pieces from everyone,” O’Malley explains. “I take things from people like Anthony Pettis, TJ Dillashaw, Roy Jones Jr. there’s just so many guys that Tim and I watch and we use. I even love watching Adesanya back in his old kickboxing days and taking some stuff from that.

“Even people like Miquel Cotto, I just love watching fights back and taking little things from everyone, not just necessarily my style,” he continues. “I can just stand up and box, I can throw elbows, I can kick, I can do everything. Everyone is good at something and I just take bits and pieces from them.”

A lot of water will have to pass under the bridge before O’Malley next enters the UFC Octagon, but he’s hopeful that fans could see him back early on in 2019. That said, having previously rushed back into action and suffered the consequences of a nightmare fight camp, O’Malley knows he must take his time to fully recover from his injuries.

“I’m really hoping for a return in April or May,” O’Malley says. “I don’t want to put a date on it because I only want to come back when I’m ready. I’m trying to give myself a long timeframe so I don’t rush back. It’s hard to even watch fights right now because I just want to go out and perform and do what I love to do. Right now I can’t do that and it’s frustrating, but fingers crossed I’ll be back early to mid-next year.”

Whilst O’Malley waits to be cleared to return to action, the UFC bantamweight division is heating up nicely. Champion TJ Dillashaw will attempt to become a two-weight UFC champion in January and a number of top contenders will be waiting in the wings to challenge for his belt when he returns. O’Malley knows he will one day be challenging for UFC gold, but for the minute at least, he’s just focused on improving and getting the best out of himself.

“I don’t really pay that much attention to all the fights,” O’Malley maintains. “Obviously I know who all the big-name guys are in the division, people like Dillashaw, Cruz, Garbrandt, Moraes and that, but really until I’m fighting them I don’t know that much about the other guys. I really just focus on improving my skills because when it comes down to it, it’s my skills against theirs.

“I’m just focusing on getting better and I’m only 24,” he continues. “I’m not even close to my prime. Guys in our division peak when they’re like 30. I still have four or five years until I’m in my prime so I’m just going to focus on getting better. Soon I’m going to take over the bantamweight division and everyone knows that.”

2018 might have been a mixed year for O’Malley, but it seems “The Sugar Show” has only just begun.