The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Daniel Cormier Show - Sean O'Malley on KNOCKING OUT Song Yadong, Merb Dvalishvili losing to Petr Yan

Episode Date: January 24, 2026

Sean "Suga" O'Malley IS BACK on the DC Check-In series with Daniel Cormier ahead of what will be a HUGE FIGHT for O'Malley against Song Yadong. O'Malley is looking to get back in the win column after losses to Merab Dvalishvili, and Suga speaks on what those losses were like for him. Plus, O'Malley talks Merab vs. Petr Yan and what went wrong for Dvalishvili in that fight. And don't miss Sean tell DC about how he asked for a potential BMF title fight RIGHT AFTER losing to Merab the last time. #Volume All lines provided by Hard Rock BetSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's fight weeks again here in Vegas. Love being in Vegas. Love fight weeks. Feels good. You know, you know what I love about you and your maturity in the sport is how every situation, you just own it. Now, you own everything in every situation. I don't know if partly that's due to you podcasting now so that you're more available to people.

So how do you think that's helped you in terms of not only coping with winning, losing, like going up and down, but just truly opening yourself up to fans and letting people kind of more behind the curtain as to who Sean O'Malley is? I feel like I feel like I'm pretty good at just going with the flow. Like, you know, you win fights, you lose fights, it is what it is. I think being just having, you got two kids, wife have a good life and it's like just focusing on that stuff rather than you know anything negative and you know it's just a lot healthier better way to live just uh being grateful for what

I already have so I don't know was it a conscious decision because I remember as the fighter when I was competing I wanted to shield so much of my life from people right now I was almost like angry when certain things were, uh, were, were public. But then when I started to be more open, it did relieve, it was a relief to me, but did you make a conscious decision to do that or was it just something that just came naturally to you? Uh, I think just kind of came natural to me. Social media in general. I was like, oh, I'm just going to kind of post about my life. And I got, you know, more popular, more popular. And it was like, well, I just, you know, keep doing what I'm doing. Um, but yeah, yeah, I mean, I think if, if you can, you can, you

get good at not caring what people think. It's easier to, you know, be more vulnerable and put whatever, you know, whatever you want out there and not care what people are going to say about it. So I think that's, you know, important part is just not letting other people's opinions affect you at all. So I am a person that talks about the sport constantly. And I will tell you, in the role that I play today, I appreciate it because it allows us to build a better idea who Sean O'Malley is inside the Octagon and outside, because inside the Octagon, what you have shown, is an ability to compete at the highest level with most.

After the last fight, though, how long did it take for you to really not only deal with the fight, but move forward and say, okay, I'm ready to get back into this because a lot of fighters, they will rush. The moment things go sideways, we got to fix it, and we got to fix it today. How long before Sean O'Malley was ready to say, what, it's time to get back on that road and start trying to get back to becoming the champion.

I was that guy trying to rush. I called Dana Hunter. I said, hey, you know, Max and Dustin and BMF belt, co-main event fell out, you know, let me fight the co-main event. And that was like a couple weeks after the fight. So I was trying to rush it, you know, then a couple weeks went by and I'm like, I was probably good. You know, I was able to chill out for a little bit and get back in the gym. But, yeah, I was definitely trying to get that. I'm like, I just need to get that out of my, get that taste out of mouth. I didn't really take much damage. I was in good shape.

I kind of wanted to, you know, I didn't want to go through another fight camp to get in shape again. So I was like, oh, I'm trying to get another one out, squeeze another one out. But, yeah, wasn't able to, which, you know, I think turned out for the better. And now here we are. And then you get song your dog as an opponent, right? It's a much different challenge, right? This is a guy that has shown an ability to stand and trading people. He's shown that he's tough, durable, and he's willing to stand in the pocket and fight.

Would that being said, though? Not many possess the ability of Sean O'Malley. I could be a striker, Sean. And I would stand in trade with anyone in the world, but if I see you across from me, I would make the game plan to try and take you down or at least clinch you. Do you expect song to do that, or do you expect the same guy that we are seeing generally when he's in front of people? Yeah, I'm expecting to come out and try to, you know, get a hold of me, push you against the fence, take me down, you know,

mix it up a little bit. So I'm definitely expecting that. That's what we're kind of, you know, we're ready for that. But if not, great. But, you know, we're definitely prepared for that. Was that the type of opponent that you expected whenever you were on the way to getting back? Like when you heard songs name, did you go, you know what? This is kind of in line with what I thought I would get.

Yeah. I mean, I didn't really have, at the time, I was like, well, I didn't have anybody in mind. And then Amon's a hobby called me out. And I was like, shit, that sounds, you know, I like that. And UFC said, hey, you, I reached out. I said, hey, I'll fight Amon. And I like, no, I want you to fight song in January. I'm like, all right.

So, sounds good. So, yeah, I was excited for the matchup. Yeah, you just wanted to fight, though. And the strike. Yeah. Yeah. So looking at the division now, right? Right, Marat being the champion was worst case scenario for you.

Piotr Yan wins the belt from him in dominant fashion, a guy that you have a victory over. Do you think, obviously, it allows for you to have a clearer path to another championship opportunity. But how much do you think you need to do in order to put yourself back in position to fight a guy in Peoria Yan, who you already have a victory over? When Peter won the fight, I had this sense of boost of energy and like, okay, you know, there's a more clear path back.

You know, I'm one fight away. I'm one beautiful performance away from fighting, you know, for the belt again. And me versus Peter is, you know, Me versus Peter rematch is huge. If the UFC, you know, the fans or whatever want to see Marab Peter trilogy instead of, you know, me versus Peter, then, you know, it is what it is. But I believe with a beautiful win, I will get a title shot. Hey, did you see, you thought I was pros, but that's that thing we do on TV. When we finish, we just kind of stop and we look in wait.

I've gotten really good at it, though. Like, you thought I was froze, but I was watching you the whole time. Exactly. It was the way to answer. I wasn't frozen. Were you surprised that Peoneliori Ann was able to get through Mara in the way that he did? I was slightly surprised, but I'm also like, I know how good Peter Yan is.

I know how good his skill set is. And the first fight they had, his hand was injured. It was in a small cage. Like, those play a role, you know, going into a fight. So I was surprised, and I wasn't. I was like, I mean, for him to out, he matched his pace. and I've kind of broke him a little bit, but I don't want to say broke him

because Maraub didn't really seem like he was ever out. He was still pushing forward like a beast and impressive performance by both guys. It just kind of looked like for the first time Rob got a little tired, and that might be because he fought so much. I mean, honestly, man, you can't, the game is so dangerous. You can't, it's hard to play with fire that many times

in one calendar year and think he only come out clean every time. Yeah, I mean, he didn't look. look as shredded as it usually does. He's, you know, flying to Georgia and, you know, doing all these extra things. It's like, who knows how much that affected the fight? Saturday night, you and Song Yadong, co-main event. You said, damn, man, I fell off. I'm on the prelims.

Like, why did you say that, man? Like, you know that it's just one phone call to being on the main car for Sean O'Malley. It's not like you got demoted to the prelims. It was like, let's get people watching her. Yeah, no, I never actually felt like I fell off or anything. It was more of a more, you know, I said it in a sarcastic, funny way and, you know, stuff gets picked up on, in texts when I, you know, verbally said it. So I said it in a sarcastic way, trying to be funny and everyone, you know, kind of ran with it. But yeah, no, I definitely feel like we're, we're still a superstar. And I think,

you know, we're on this card. I'm on this card, the paramount card, the first one of the year, first one ever for a reason. So yeah, I feel like my stock is not, it has not fallen. It definitely just took a little bit of a standstill, but we're about to get on the rocket ship again. But if you, Saturday night, when you walk into that afternoon, how does this fight look for Sugar Sean O'Malley? What can Song Yudong give you that could potentially be an issue if there's anything? Yeah, I mean, he definitely presents an issue. He's very, very explosive and fast, hits hard, confident, young, he's hungry, he wants this. So he definitely presents some issues, and I'm going to go out there and just kind of,

you know, in real time, you know, figure him out. Because every guy wants to give you their best, because you're Sean O'Malley. You are the star of the division, right? So you're going to get every guy's best. Would that being said, what does Saturday night look like for Sean O'Mella? Yeah, I think, you know, the best songy dong is going to bring out the best sugar. So I think, you know, this is just going to be a, You know, very, very high-level fight, you know, a very high-level MMA fight.

And I'm going to get my hand raised one way or the other. Sean O'Malley fights this weekend at UFC 324 in the cool main event against Song you don't. Make sure you tap into everything he's doing his YouTube channel is fantastic. And, bro, I'm like, I'll be watching. I'll be watching all YouTube. I'll do a good job. Watching YouTube, tapping the Instagram, everything else.

Sean O'Malley fights this weekend. Until next time, guys, like, subscribe and tell you friends. You know, that friends, I got a YouTube channel. I'm checking in with guys like the Sugar Show. Until next time, peace. Yo, guys, so you know I love to give you guys my picks, and these picks are brought to you by our friends at Hard Rock Bet. All you got to do, go and download the Hard Rock Bet app, bet $5.

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I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Turn someday into right now with Buddy by Jake Radio, nonstop workout music and expert tips 24-7. Hey, head over to iHeart.com. Search Body by Jake Radio and stream it for free right now. Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Remember, stick to the fight. When your hardest hit, it's what things seem worse that you must not quit. Don't quit. Body by Jake Radio, where hope meets momentum.

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