dissers.info — 3 guys rest on a couch. The one on the right warbles on a flute, the center strums a guitar and the one left wing gradually faucets away on a tambourine.
As one commentor on the video clip places it: “I’d love to show this to someone and inform them to guess that the UFC 135lbs champ is.”
The commentor is right. Sean O’Malley, resting left wing with the tambourine, is among one of the most skilled competitors on the planet and has among one of the most colorful characters – and hairdos – in the UFC.
Known for his innovative social media output and seismic success in the Octagon, O’Malley has quickly become a follower favorite and UFC champ.
Not just does his unique appearance help him stand apart – face tattoos and a vivid hairdo belong to the 29-year-old’s unique picture – but also his nickname: “Suga.”
The nickname was offered to him by his first trainer, Johnny Aho, back in his home town Helena, Montana, because O’Malley was “so wonderful to watch.” O’Malley explains his combating design to CNN Sporting activity as being “beautiful, fierce, but not a fierce act.”
He has greater than measured up to that invoicing.
20 professional fights, 18 victories, one loss and one no contest have left O’Malley atop the UFC bantamweight department, having actually effectively protected his title once currently. He will make second title protection versus Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili on September 14 at UFC 306.
But that trip to the top of the sport’s most popular list hasn’t already constantly been a simple one.
Returning
O’Malley was en route up. In 2018, his celebrity was ascendant and he was a competitor that was anticipated for the very top.
But after that he could not fight any much longer.
O’Malley said on social media that he was withdrawing from his fight versus Jose Quiñonez on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229 after stopping working a medications test.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Company (USADA), the UFC’s anti-doping companion, later on announced that O’Malley had evaluated favorable for the restricted compound ostarine – specified by USADA as a “non-Specified Compound in the course of Anabolic Representatives” – in out-of-competition tests from 2018. He was put on hold for 6 months consequently, while he also went through hip surgical treatment throughout that time.
He was scheduled to earn his go back to activity on July 6, 2019 at UFC 239 but soon beforehand, he was pulled from activity after once again testing favorable for ostarine. He was handed an additional 6 month suspension after USADA’s “examination right into O’Malley’s favorable tests, consisting of comprehensive follow-up testing, his contract to maintain a food log, his enhanced degree of treatment in choosing supplements, and finding no proof of deliberate use.”
USADA said that the “pattern of reduced urinary ostarine concentrations observed in several examples provided by O’Malley was consistent with direct exposure to ostarine as a pollutant.”
The enforced two-year damage took a toll on his psychological health and wellness – he informed the UFC’s website that he handled his share of “anxiety” and “stress and anxiousness” – while he also invested the moment asserting his virtue. But he made certain to maintain everything in point of view because time away.
“(People) obtain punished for stuff they have never ever done, and that is how I feel, in a manner,” he said. “But it is a lot smaller sized compared to stuff such as that. I have food. I have sprinkle. I have sanctuary. So, my life is still truly good; I simply have to earn certain I maintain that point of view that maybe a great deal even worse.”
Despite the individual problem, O’Malley used that time to develop his abilities. “I seem like I’m two times as great. Overall, I’m more powerful in every aspect,” he informed MMA Combating after his return.
When he did eventually make his comeback, he returned with a bang. 2 first-round knockouts reestablished his reputation as among the UFC’s most eruptive competitors.
But O’Malley was dealt another strike when he shed to Marlon Vera in late 2020, his first profession loss. O’Malley appeared hindered by an injury to his leg sustained after a devasting kick from his Ecuadorian challenger. After the fight, O’Malley’s trainer Tim Welch exposed he had experienced damage to his peroneal nerve which restricted blood flow to his right foot.
Although O’Malley called it a mishap, but Welch said on his YouTube network that he really felt obligation for what transpired, saying the ankle joint wraps were too limited which he should have postponed the beginning of the encounter to obtain them redone.
While some competitors might have had their self-confidence rocked by their first loss, O’Malley struggled with none of these problems.
He rattled off 3 straight victories to vault himself support the positions before his fight versus Pedro Munhoz was ruled no contest because of an unintentional eye jab from O’Malley.
With his form reestablished, O’Malley revealed why he was seen as the next big celebrity. First, he beat previous bantamweight champ Petr Yan and after that obtained the division’s title belt for himself with a spectacular knockout of Aljamain Sterling in 2015.
With all that buzz currently bordering him, O’Malley informs CNN it never ever became too a lot. “I never ever truly really felt that stress of needing to perform. I constantly type of, I enjoy it. I reach head out there and do that, so I’m excited.”
But one challenge stayed before he could cement himself on top of the sport; vengeance versus Vera.