"Sean was not a fighter" - Sean O'Malley's father recalls how 12-year-old 'Sugar' found UFC "disgusting"
Sean O'Malley's father Dan O'Malley recently opened up about his son's childhood. 'Sugar' was recently featured in a short documentary, Anatomy of a Fighter, ahead of his fight against Petr Yan at UFC 280.
In the video, O'Malley's father revealed that the bantamweight used to despise MMA as a child, claiming that he found UFC fights "disgusting."
Speaking about the 27-year-old fighter's childhood, Dan O'Malley had this to say:
"I think Sean knew he was a special athlete and just knew that he's gonna do whatever he wants to do...We were downstairs, me and my younger son Daniel, my older son Michael, Sean being the middle son. We snuck downstairs and we were watching CDs of MMA fights and UFC fights, some bada** fights back in the day because we had to hide downstairs because the mom said, 'You are not gonna show your kids this stuff'.
"So, we were down there watching and having a good time. Sean's probably 12, sneaks down there, sees this, he's like, 'How can you guys watch this man? This stuff's disgusting!' He runs upstairs...tells his mom...mom comes down, makes it shut it off which is ironic because Sean was not a fighter."
You can check out the full documentary on 'Sugar' below:
O'Malley is increasingly seen as a bright prospect in the bantamweight division of the UFC. With a pro-record of 15 wins and one loss, he is currently on an impressive three-fight win streak with one no-contest match against Raulian Paiva.
At UFC 280, Sean O'Malley will take on former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, who is currently the No.1-ranked contender in the division.
Sean O'Malley discusses upcoming fight with Petr Yan
Sean O'Malley will be fighting his most experienced opponent of his career so far. 'Sugar' is all set to go up against former Bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC 280 on October 22, 2022.
Well aware of how tough his upcoming opponent is, O'Malley recently revealed how hard he is training on his skills. Appearing on his TimboSugar Show, O'Malley said:
"I've never watched tape. I've watched a little bit. Like, when I fought Pedro [Munhoz], I watched a little bit of the 'Dom' [Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz] fight. I watched a little bit – But for this, for Petr, I've watched more... And this hasn't been a ton, but like a little bit of the sh*t you sent me. I've watched more on Petr than I have for previous opponents."
Check out Sean O'Malley discuss his preparation for UFC 280 below: