Sean Daniel O'Malley (born October 24, 1994) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC), where he is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. As of September 17, 2024, he is #1 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

O'Malley trains in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

, at The MMA Lab led by head trainer John Crouch, and is coached by his long-time friend, Tim Welch. O'Malley was given the nickname "Sugar" by one of his MMA coaches in Montana early on in his career. After achieving amateur records of 9–2 (MMA), 4–0 (kickboxing) and 2–0 (boxing), O'Malley stuck with MMA and debuted professionally, fighting his first five fights of his career in his native Montana, before leaving to fight in North Dakota and eventually fought for

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

where he got a highlight-reel knockout over David Nuzzo. After his win over Nuzzo, O'Malley earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series 2 where he took on Alfred Khashakyan. O'Malley beat Khashakyan with a stunning knockout in the first round and was awarded a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

O'Malley's promotional debut came against Terrion Ware on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. O'Malley won the fight via unanimous decision. O'Malley next faced Andre Soukhamthath on March 3, 2018, at UFC 222. He won the fight by unanimous decision, despite injuring his foot in the third round. This fight earned both participants a Fight of the Night bonus. O'Malley was expected to square off against José Alberto Quiñónez on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229. However, O'Malley announced that he was out of the fight on September 30 due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. On October 25, O'Malley received hip surgery while waiting to receive judgment pending his potential violation. Subsequently, O'Malley was suspended for six months by the NSAC after testing positive for ostarine. He became eligible to return as of March 2019. O'Malley was scheduled to face Marlon Vera on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. However, O'Malley announced his withdrawal from the bout on June 21, 2019, due to a failed test for ostarine. The

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...

decided to suspend him due to the failed test and he was suspended for 6 months by USADA. The ostarine in his system was likely residual from his previously failed test prior to UFC 229. O'Malley fought José Alberto Quiñónez at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. This win earned him his first '' Performance of the Night'' award. O'Malley faced former WEC Bantamweight Champion

Eddie Wineland Eddie Wineland (born June 26, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2003 until 2022, Wineland ...

at UFC 250 on June 6, 2020. He won the fight via one-punch knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night. O'Malley laced up against Marlon Vera in the co-main event of UFC 252 on August 15, 2020. He would go on to lose the fight via TKO in round one, the first defeat of O'Malley's career. He was later diagnosed with drop foot, which was the result of a leg kick landed by Vera. O'Malley faced Thomas Almeida on March 27, 2021, at UFC 260. During the first round O'Malley dropped Almeida with a punch, and walked away thinking that Almeida had been knocked unconscious. Despite this he won the fight via knockout in the third round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. O'Malley was scheduled to face

Louis Smolka Louis Smolka (born July 16, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264. However, Smolka pulled out of the fight in late June citing injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho. He won the bout via TKO in round three, after outstriking Moutinho with hard shots for all three rounds. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. O'Malley faced Raulian Paiva on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269. He won the fight via TKO in round one. The win also earned O'Malley his fourth Performance of the Night bonus award. O'Malley faced Pedro Munhoz on July 2, 2022, at UFC 276. Early in the second round, O'Malley accidentally poked Munhoz in the eye, rendering him unable to continue. The fight was declared a no contest. O'Malley faced former UFC Bantamweight champion

Petr Yan Petr Evgenyevich Yan (; born 11 February 1993) is a Russian professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UF ...

on October 22, 2022, at

UFC 280 ''UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 22, 2022, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background A UFC Lightweight Champions ...

. He won the bout via split decision. The result was seen as highly controversial, with many fans and fighters expressing their belief that Yan was the rightful winner. 25 out of 26 media outlets scored the fight for Yan. As a result, the editors of

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

website gave this fight "2022 Robbery of the Year Award". The bout received the '' Fight of the Night'' bonus.

UFC Bantamweight Champion

O'Malley faced Aljamain Sterling for the

UFC Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC Championship#Title match system, championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, ...

on August 19, 2023 at UFC 292. He won the title by second-round technical knockout at the beginning of the round. This earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' bonus. For his first title defense, O'Malley faced Marlon Vera in a rematch on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299. He defended his title via unanimous decision. This earned him his sixth '' Performance of the Night'' bonus award. For his second title defense, O'Malley faced Merab Dvalishvili on September 14, 2024 in the main event at UFC 306. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On September 16, O'Malley revealed on his podcast that he suffered from a torn labrum from before the fight and that he will undergo surgery. O'Malley faced Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch for the championship on June 7, 2025 at UFC 316. He lost the fight via a north-south choke submission at the end of the third round.

Submission grappling

Quintet: Ultra

O'Malley competed at Quintet: Ultra as a member of Team UFC on December 12, 2019. He submitted

Takanori Gomi is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who gained international fame in Pride Fighting Championships. Later in his career, Gomi also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Gomi is the only Pride FC Lightweight Champion in the ...

with a guillotine choke in his opening round of the tournament but was subsequently submitted by Héctor Lombard with an ankle-lock. The team advanced to the next round and faced Team

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

. In that round, he went to a draw with former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, being both eliminated of the round. Team UFC ended up winning the tournament.

Grappling Industries

O'Malley also entered the 155lbs Advanced No-gi division of Grappling Industries Phoenix on September 20, 2020, and placed third in a seven-man division, only losing to the eventual winner, Robert Degle.

Submission Underground

Chael Sonnen put out an open challenge on behalf of O'Malley for his promotion's event on December 20, 2020. The challenge was answered by James Gallagher, who challenged O'Malley to a grappling match at the SUG event. O'Malley reportedly declined the matchup and Gallagher was left without an opponent.

Personal life

O'Malley's grandmother is Irish. Together with his friend and head coach, Tim Welch, O'Malley is a co-host of their own

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''The Timbo Sugarshow''. He was previously following a vegan diet but has since gone back to eating meat. O'Malley is an advocate for

legalizing marijuana The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. The ...

. O'Malley is married. He and his wife have a daughter, born in 2020, and a son born in May 2025.

Championships and accomplishments

(One time) ***One successful title defense ***Most significant strikes landed in a UFC Bantamweight title fight (230) vs Marlon Vera 2 ***Fourth highest striking differential in a UFC title fight (141) vs Marlon Vera 2 ** Fight of the Night (Three times) ** Performance of the Night (Six times) ***Most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Bantamweight division history (9) **Tied ( Marlon Vera & Rob Font) for second most knockouts in UFC Bantamweight division history (6) **Second highest significant strike accuracy percentage in UFC Bantamweight division history (61.5%) **Third most strikes landed-per-minute in UFC Bantamweight division history (6.71) **Highest significant strike differential in UFC Bantamweight division history (3.31) **Seventh most significant strikes landed in UFC Bantamweight division history (1011) **Third highest striking differential in UFC history (160) vs Kris Moutinho ***Highest striking differential in a UFC Bantamweight bout (160) vs Kris Moutinho ***Second highest striking differential in a UFC Bantamweight bout (141) vs Marlon Vera 2 **UFC Honors Awards *** 2023: President's Choice Performance of the Year Winner & Fan's Choice Knockout of the Year Nominee **UFC.com Awards *** 2020: Ranked #3 Knockout of the Year ***2022: Ranked #2 Upset of the Year & Ranked #10 Fight of the Year *Intense Championship Fighting **ICF Bantamweight Championship (One time) *Sherdog.com ** Sherdog's 2022 Robbery of the Year *ESPYs ** Best MMA Fighter ESPY Award (2024)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 18–3 (1) , Merab Dvalishvili , Submission (north-south choke) , UFC 316 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:42 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–1 (1) , Aljamain Sterling , TKO (punches) , UFC 292 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:51 ,

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, United Arab Emirates , , - , NC , align=center, , Pedro Munhoz , NC (accidental eye poke) , UFC 276 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:09 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Thomas Almeida , KO (punch) , UFC 260 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:52 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–1 , Marlon Vera , TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC 252 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC 250 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , José Alberto Quiñónez , TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC 248 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Andre Soukhamthath , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 222 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Terrion Ware , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale , December 1, 2017 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Alfred Khashakyan , KO (punch) , Dana White's Contender Series 2 , July 18, 2017 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:14 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , David Nuzzo , KO (spinning wheel kick) , LFA 11 , May 5, 2017 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Irvin Veloz , KO (punch) , Extreme Beatdown 20 , March 18, 2017 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 , New Town, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Tycen Lynn , KO (head kick) , Intense Championship Fighting 26 , October 21, 2016 , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

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Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Omar Avelar , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Intense Championship Fighting 20 , August 21, 2015 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 , ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Shane Sargent , KO (punch) , Intense Championship Fighting 19 , July 3, 2015 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Choteau, Montana Choteau is a city in and the county seat of Teton County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,721 at the 2020 census. Choteau is named after French fur merchant, trader and explorer Pierre Chouteau, Jr., who is also the namesake of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Josh Reyes , TKO (punches) , Intense Championship Fighting 17 , March 6, 2015 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

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Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%" , - ! !Result !Record !Opponent !Method !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, David Courtney , , 1 (4), , Jul 16, 2016 , align=left, ,

Pay-per-view bouts

{, class="wikitable" , + !No !Event !Fight !Date !Venue !City !PPV buys , - , 1. , UFC 292 , Sterling vs. O'Malley , August 19, 2023 ,

TD Garden TD Garden (named the FleetCenter from opening until 2005 and TD Banknorth Garden until 2009) is a multi-purpose arena in Boston. It is located directly above the MBTA's North Station, and it replaced the original Boston Garden upon opening i ...

, United States , Not Disclosed , - , 2. , UFC 299 , O'Malley vs. Vera 2 , March 9, 2024 ,

Kaseya Center Kaseya Center is a multi-purpose arena on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. The arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. The arena was previously named American Airlines Arena from opening in 1999 until 2021, FTX ...

, United States , Not Disclosed , - , 3. , UFC 306 , O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili , September 14, 2024 ,

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, United States , Not Disclosed , - , 4. , UFC 316 , Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 , June 7, 2025 ,

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

, United States , Not Disclosed

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OMalley, Sean Living people 1994 births American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Montana People from Lewis and Clark County, Montana Sportspeople from Helena, Montana Doping cases in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American people of Irish descent American Twitch (service) streamers Ultimate Fighting Championship champions 21st-century American sportsmen