"He kept saying Chito beat your son's a**" - Sean O'Malley recalls how a drunk Luke Rockhold confronted his father
Sean O'Malley's UFC 252 outing against Marlon 'Chito' Vera saw him beaten for the first time in MMA after succumbing to first-round TKO.
Although the 26-year-old considers himself "mentally undefeated," he will always feel the sting of that loss to Vera, and UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold is well aware of that.
According to O'Malley, his father once bumped into Rockhold at Whitefish (a town in Montana), where the former middleweight champion was apparently drunk. While exchanging words with O'Malley's father, Rockhold reminded him of his son's sole loss at the hands of his teammate Marlon Vera.
Recalling the story on episode 149 of TimboSugarShow, Sean O'Malley said:
"They were in Whitefish. Luke (Rockhold) was drunk and he kept telling my dad 'Chito beat your son's a**'. My dad said Luke was super (buzzed) but he kept saying 'Chito beat your son's a**'. Why would he be like that?"
O'Malley then added that his father failed to recognize Rockhold, which likely frustrated the 16-5 fighter.
"Luke said (to my father) 'do you not know who I am?', and my dad said 'you look familiar but I don't know'. So that probably p*ssed him off. I don't know the whole story," said Sean O'Malley.
Watch Sean O'Malley describing the incident in the video below (from the 18:15 mark):
Rockhold hasn't stepped into the UFC octagon since July 2019 when he lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239.
The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) member is now expected to return at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021, where he will take on Sean Strickland.
Sean O'Malley was reportedly offered a fight at UFC 268
As per Sean O'Malley, the UFC was hoping to have him featured on the UFC 268 fight card. However, 'Suga' refused to accept the bout since he's not interested in going to New York, where the event is likely to be held.
O'Malley said snubbing the offer infuriated UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who then treated him like a "piece of s**t." It is not yet clear who O'Malley's opponent potential was.
Having registered four KO/TKO wins in the UFC, O'Malley is one of the fastest rising stars in the promotion. His professional MMA record stands at 14-1.