Sean O’Malley recently opened up about his humble beginnings and confessed that he always wanted to become a UFC fighter and never chalked out a career plan B.
When O’Malley was 18 years old he packed his bags to chase his dream of fighting in the UFC. At that time, he had very limited funds to chase his goal.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who trains at The MMA Lab in Arizona under coach Tim Welch, recently told Daniel Cormier how it all started. “Suga” spoke about how he saved $2000 and got his “a*s kicked” for 10 days straight by tough Mexicans. However, he had his sights set on signing with the UFC and never gave up grinding.
“Tim [Welch] came down to commentate on a fight when I was 18 years old. He was in Arizona. He was like, ‘Hey, if you want to train at a real gym, come down for two weeks. let me know.’ Came down. It was 10 days. I’ve never flown or been out of the state by myself. Flew to Mesa, Arizona. Tim picked me up in his Mazda, and I could not believe I was in Arizona going to train.”
“These tough Mexicans at The MMA Lab, when I came down to just get my a*s kicked for 10 days straight. Flew back home, worked full-time, saved up 2000 dollars, packed my Nissan, and drove to Arizona, and there was no plan B. I was going to be in the UFC, and I was going to make it happen.”
Check out Sean O’Malley’s comments below:
Sean O’Malley says he moved to Arizona with $2,000 at 18 to chase the UFC dream 👀🔥
“There was no plan B, I was going to be in the UFC.” pic.twitter.com/G6i2o62bhr
— UFC FIFTH ROUND (@UFCFIFTHROUND) March 11, 2026
Finally, in 2017, on Dana White’s Contender Series 2, O’Malley knocked out Alfred Khashakyan in Round 1 to earn a UFC contract. Later that year, he made his promotional debut at the TUF 26 finale against Terrion Ware and won by unanimous decision.
Now, “Suga” is counted as one of the company’s biggest STARS and boasts a UFC record of 11 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.
Sean O’Malley is going to fight at the White House
After losing his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili in 2024 and failing to reclaim it in a title rematch in 2025, Sean O’Malley most recently returned to winning ways at UFC 324 against Song Yadong, snapping his two-fight losing skid.
Now, the 31-year-old American is a part of the UFC Freedom 250 lineup and will fight Aiemann Zahabi on June 14 at the White House.
A big win next could earn Sean O’Malley another chance to reclaim what he lost to “The Machine” in 2024.