Sean O'Malley couldn't 'pass up' on opportunity, ideally would have waited extra two years to join UFC
‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley has revealed that he had initially intended to join the UFC around the age of 24-25. Alluding to the fact that he ended up joining the organization at the age of 22, O’Malley asserted that he simply couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
O’Malley – who was born in Helena, Montana – recalled that he primarily competed in Montana in the early stages of his MMA career. He eventually moved to Arizona, which is where he currently resides and trains. On the UFC 276 Countdown episode, O’Malley stated:
“Early on in my career, my first fights were back in Montana. I didn’t plan on really getting to the UFC until I was 24-25, to where my skill-set was where I wanted it. But you can’t pass up on opportunities. I fought in Arizona, had the spinning heel kick knockout over David Nuzzo. And then, I got asked to go on the Contender Series.”
"My style is so fun to watch. I knock people out in spectacular fashion.”
The 27-year-old bantamweight star notably harked back to his memorable KO of David Nuzzo at LFA 11 in May 2017. The spectacular knockout earned ‘Sugar’ the chance to participate in Dana White’s Contender Series and eventually secure a contract with the world's premier MMA organization.
Watch Sean O’Malley talk about joining the organization earlier than he'd originally planned at the 0:58-minute mark in the video below:
Sean O’Malley on re-signing with the UFC, clarity regarding his goals
Presently, the No. 13-ranked bantamweight Sean O’Malley is scheduled to face the No. 10-ranked Pedro Munhoz on July 2. The fight is being viewed as a huge opportunity for ‘Sugar.’
It’s believed that a win over a top-10 bantamweight like Munhoz would tremendously benefit O’Malley in his quest to capture the bantamweight title.
In a recent appearance on ESPN MMA’s DC & RC Show, O’Malley opened up about multiple topics. Most prominently, he spoke about wanting to earn a million dollars per fight.
‘Sugar’ admitted that he’s unlikely to be paid a million dollars for the Pedro Munhoz matchup, but he’s vowed to eventually earn such huge paydays. Highlighting his clarity regarding his goals in the organization, O’Malley said:
"I actually recently sat down with the UFC. Re-signed with them. And I had a great conversation with Sean Shelby. I go in there and I say, 'Hey, I wanna make this amount of money. How do I do that? What do I need to do as a business partner to the UFC to end up making the amount of money I wanna make.'”