The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Daniel Cormier Show - Sean O’Malley on UFC White House card, Cory Sandhagen, Snoop Dogg KO, winning title

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Sean O'Malley joins Daniel Cormier in a brand new episode of the Daniel Cormier Show! DC sits down with “Suga” Sean to talk about his upbringing in Helena, Montana, and why he wanted to become an NFL or NBA player before transitioning into fighting. O'Malley also addresses the Cory Sandhagen CALLOUT and why the UFC White House card is such a massive card. Sean also relives his viral knockout against Alfred Khashakyan and what it was like seeing Snoop Dogg lose his mind calling the fight. And don't miss O'Malley talk his championship moment against Aljamain Sterling, beating Petr Yan, the loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera, and so much more! #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. 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. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. The volume. All right, guys, welcome to a brand new episode of the Daniel Cormier show

brought to you by Total Wireless, the official wireless provider of UFC. They're in your corner with unlimited 5G data that will not slow you down. Guys, that is a total power move. Hey, today I am joined by a guy that took the mixed martial arts

world by storm. Listen, when this kid came onto the scene, he had one of the biggest introductions that we have ever seen come off of the Kintinus series and everybody wanted to label him a certain way. But then when Sean O'Malley stepped into the octagon, he showed through his skill, grit, determination, and pure athleticism,

which we will get into, that he is going to be a world-class fighter. Not only was he a world-class fighter, he became a world champion and one of the greatest band-in-weights we have seen in a really long time. Today I'm joined by a guy that started in Montana, but in Montana he was one of the best athletes on the playground.

He became a world champion. and still one of the best way and it makes in the world. Sugar Sean O'Malley. Sean, thank you so much for joining me, my guy. I appreciate you giving me some time. I appreciate that intro. They're going to be fired up. Yeah, man.

You're just on always. Well, Sean, it's only what you do. Yeah. I'm not making anything up, right? These are all facts, right? Sean, as we get into this, I want to talk about the beginning, right? Let's do it.

Helena, Montana. You know, I went there once to do a wrestling seminar for one day. What was life like there? Because when you look at that place, it's small. And it's flat. It's like really, really flat. Like, what did you make of, what was your childhood like?

Yeah. It's 30,000 population. You know, there's a couple high schools. It was, you know, it was every, it was the only thing I knew. So I didn't really, I just kind of thought the world was, everything was kind of like hell in a month. Like, it just thought like it was, the world was like that. So, you know, it felt like it was a normal upbringing.

We had a pretty, you know, a pretty badass house. and the mountains pretty close to a lake. Like, didn't fish, didn't hunt, didn't really do any, like, didn't have animals, but we had to, you know, had land and lived by the lake, was always on the lake in the summer. And, you know, I just thought it was, you know, I thought everywhere snowed. And, like, I was, you know, clearly not very smart. But I just thought it was normal. And then I eventually moved to Arizona and realized it was like, holy shit,

it was a completely different world. Yeah. What kind of kid were you? Growing up in that environment with that much space? I was active. It was football, basketball, soccer, baseball, all year round from when I was three, four years old, whatever season. Like, it was cold out. We were playing basketball.

When it was, you know, summer we were playing football, baseball. It was always nonstop. All my memories are just playing sports. Who put that on you, right? Because when you're a kid, you don't just choose a sport. It's either your dad, it's either your mom. Who was the one in the family that said, Sean? It's going to be sports from the very start.

I think it was a little bit of both. I had an older brother who was, you know, very similar, played, played all the sports. I had a younger brother, he played, you know, played all the sports. You know, I think growing up, my parents played sports too. And I don't know if it was just a, we had a lot of energy as kids. Yeah. What else were we going to do? Yeah.

You know, we hated, or I hated school. So it was just like, that was pretty much all I looked forward to doing was, you know, after school. We got football practice, basketball practice, baseball practice. Looking back, I wish so much that someone in my family was like, hey, we should wrestle. Maybe we should wrestle. Like, I was one of those guys like, hey, I'm playing, fucking fruit loops. I'm playing basketball while you fuckers are running stairs, and I'm fucking shooting hoops.

So in high school, I remember the kids wrestling, and I was playing basketball, and it's like, that sucks. They're wearing some singlets. Why does the singlets scare so many people are? I love it. I'm showing off my junk. Like, ha! Look at it. Look what I'm packing, baby.

I'm ready to wrestle. Sean, how much did playing all those sports shape you? Because right now, one of the biggest issues, especially in youth sports, is specializing. the kids specialized. You did the jump shot after a fight one time. I was like, well, what is the meaning of that? Now when I start researching you and realizing you played all these sports, that's the meaning. But how important was that football, soccer, basketball, baseball, to becoming the type of athlete that you are today?

I feel like it completely molded me to just being a good athlete because I was constantly doing different movements. Like football, different, the basketball and soccer and baseball, there's all these different athletic movements. that I was doing non-stop since I was three, four years old and when I finally put on the gloves and I was 16 years old and went to spar I kind of was just, I didn't have a stance

I wasn't orthodox, didn't have my hands up, wasn't a, I didn't even watch fighting. Like I started training and like fell in love with the sport before I even watched anything. Like I was just, my style came from just instinct. Like I literally put gloves on and we sparred. My hands are down partially because

the gloves were 16 ounces. I'm like, these motherfuckers are head. heavy. I'm like, I'm going to keep on my hip, and if I got to put them up, I will, but it wasn't really getting hit. I wasn't training with good guys. So I developed this self-confidence with like, I was like, I can do a lot of things that I, you know, are not, you know, recommended when you start. But I don't know. I think I just got very lucky with being athletic and then just my upbringing.

Growing up with a brother, there's always a natural competition in the household. Yeah. Was competition something that came natural to you, or was that something that you kind of grew into as you got older? Oh, the amount of we got in a fight every single day. My older brother's four years older than me, my young brother's four years younger than me. So we were constantly playing basketball outside, you know, all the sports outside. Every single day it turned a new fight. None of us wanted to lose.

And it was heated at all every single day. It was literally us three boys competing in everything we did. That's the best. It was good. It kind of gets annoying after a while. Like, dude, I swear to God, I'm like trying to press the elevator faster than everybody. I'm like, I want to be the one to press it because I won. I won.

It's like when you grow up around a whole bunch of kids and a whole bunch of kids that are like athletes and you're competing, it's like it fosters something in you at a young age that as you grow, man. And it's the thing that we need, especially in fighting. If you don't have that, you're screwed. Yeah, you're not in the right sport if you're trying to, if you don't have that. No, if you don't have that thing that makes you. annoying a little bit, you have no chance. So your friend introduced you to fighting.

Which friend was that? Yeah, his name was Mitch Foley. I was in, I literally remember. I was in Utah with my family. Like, in the summer, we'd go camping. And we were in our fifth wheel. My buddy called me, flip phone, flip that bitch open. What up?

He said, you want to go check out this fight gym? I was like, I think I was 15 years old, maybe 16. I was right around that age. He said, you want to go check out this fight gym? I was like, yeah, that sounds cool. I was getting into a point where school sports, like you had to get good grades. I fucking hated school.

You hated school? hated it, never wanted to go. Why? Why was so hard? I just felt like it was so pointless. I'm like, I go there, try to talk to chicks, which was sweet. That was literally the only thing that I really even cared about was try to, you know, talk to chicks and that was it. Other than that, school is just so pointless. I looked forward to, well, somebody would bring us from after school to the kickboxing gym. Only thing I look forward to. But yeah, he's like, you want to go check out a fight gym? And I was like, girls will think that's fucking sweet. It's like another, like athletic. I'm not really playing the school sports anymore. I wanted to do something and got hooked instantly. Did you fear, though? Because the one thing that adults tell us when they're growing up is how important school is, right? And you're like, I hate this.

I don't want to do it anymore. But I ultimately know that it's something that I should be doing. Were you scared that it might affect you down the line? Or did you have this belief that you were going to make it in something? There was this, like, crazy, delusional self-belief that I was. I was going to be rich and famous. I didn't know what I was going to do. I wanted to be in the NBA.

I wanted to be in the NFL. You know, high school rolls around realized that's not realistic. You know, I check out fighting, and it was just kind of like, this is it. And this has to be it. There was no plan B. It was where do I need to go? In my mind, you know, 17 years old, whatever, I'm like, I need to go to California. I don't, I just just, I'm like, I need to go to California because I think I'd like seen

your eye, like team out of my other. I need to go to California. and then, you know, I'm 18 years old, have an MMA fight. Tim Welch, I see him fighting on Fightmaster. I see him fighting on some TV show on, like it was on like MTV or something. I was like, damn, and it said from Great Falls, Montana.

I was like, damn, he's on TV. He's famous. Like, in my eyes, he was, he was already famous. He was fighting on TV. Tim came down to commentated a fight when I was 18 years old. He was in Arizona. He's like, hey, if you want to come train at a real gym, like come down for two weeks, let me know.

Came down. worst, it was 10 days. Never flew. Never been out of the state by myself. Flew to Mesa, Arizona. Tim picked me up in his Mazda. And I was just like, I could not believe I was in Arizona going to train. Like, I just couldn't believe it.

There was guys like Yatine Mesa and like these tough Mexicans at the MMA lab. And I came down and just got an ass kick for 10 days straight. Flew back home, worked full time, saved up $2,000, packed my Nissan, drove to Arizona. and just there was no plan B. I was going to be in the UFC and I was going to make it happen. Sean, you know one thing I was telling these kids that I coach,

they say, and you just kind of mentioned, you said you had this unbelievable belief. Delusion. Delusion. Yes. Right? Self belief. I believe that anyone that's great

has to be a little bit crazy and delusional. Because when you tell yourself, think about this. you're a world champion and the biggest fighting organization in the world when you tell yourself that's something that you're going to do there are billions of people in the world

anyone that says I'm going to be the best at something in the world has to be a little crazy or at least to the people that don't think on that mindset the people that don't live in that rarefied air they go well Sean's crazy he's from here like me

he can't be a world champion you got to be a little bit crazy, right? Oh yeah, dude, that was everybody told me. I remember, like, and when I was in Montana, like, hey, you're going to Arizona, like, you're going to be a small fish and a big pond, like, no one's going to really pay attention to you. Like, there wasn't, outside my, you know, my mom and dad were like, hey, yeah, you can do anything you want, honey, whatever. Outside of that, like,

friends were like, bro, what, you're going to go to be in the fucking UFC? It's so discouraging. But in my mind, I didn't give, I didn't. Not you. Yeah. But you would think it's like, and it probably does. There's just probably kids that have that kind of same self-belief, but then they're around people that tell them. It probably does affect them. But in my mind, I was like, watch, motherfuckers. I, looking back, I'm thankful for those people because it motivated me even more.

I wanted it bad. But then when I'm told by this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy, this guy, like, what are you doing? It fueled me. I loved when people doubt me. I still do. I still love people doubt me. It definitely drives me. And I think it drives a lot of, you know, people.

When you walk into that gym for the first time, the first time you walked into a kickboxing gym, there's a feeling of, okay, this is where I belong. But then when you walk into that gym in Arizona, what are you thinking at that moment, like, man, do you feel, because I remember when I walked in the AK.A. for the first time, I was like, yo, these dudes are crazy. Like, what are you feeling that first moment you walk into that gym in the MMA lab?

Well, the M.A. Lab is pretty popular, like, wrestling. Like, they wrestle. I never wrestle the day in my life. Not one second. I didn't know. I remember on a Tuesday, like, oh, let's get into two and two. no one wanted to be my partner. I had no idea what the fuck two and twos were.

I didn't know a single leg. I didn't know any. I literally knew no wrestling. And it was, it was intimidating. It was hard. It was, you know,

then Wednesday was kickboxing day, and I was like, let's go. And it kind of got a little bit, a little bit of good get back, but I was still, you know, 18 years old.

It was pretty small. But it's crazy. Like, I didn't really start training real MMA until I was like 18, 19 years old. I got in the UFC and I was 23. Yeah.

And I was like, you did it for five years and then you're there already. And I was in the UFC. I was like, damn, I mean, it all worked out. But I was like, this is fucking crazy. But yeah, walking into the gym was Benson Henderson, you know, screaming at the, Benson's. He just wrestled at Raf, wrestled.

I saw that, yeah. When he walked out, I got goosebumps because there's no one that competes like Benson. And he does it in the gym. Like, so me growing up 18, 19, 19, 21, while I was there, I'm, you know, training at Tim's now at the Red Hawk Academy. But just watching Ben's intensity and passion for the love of competing in the sport, there's nothing like that and I got to see that every single day

and him screaming at the end of practice and I feel like that molded me a lot too You know when you're around that type of greatness it really does encourage you to keep going Those people that doubted you When you go back now as Sean O'Malley Like what is that? Because I found that some people that discourage me

It's almost like they have amnesia They don't remember the things that they said Like how is that for you when you go back there. Yeah, I mean, the biggest one is my older brother. He was like, he remembers telling me like, bro, what, like, that's crazy. It doesn't, you're wasting your time. And he even, like, he's like, dude, I can't not believe I used to say that.

Like, you proved me so wrong. And, you know, we have a cool relationship now. But, yeah, people, I mean, I don't really go back to Montana much. I'm going back in a couple weeks for some of our local guys or some of our guys have fights in Montana. So I go back every once in a while. But, you know, right now I feel like I'm just surrounded by, you know, very close net people, the gym, my family. So I don't really even

talk to a lot of people that doubted me. Not because, you know, I regret, you know. Well, you're kind of like, because of who you are today, it's kind of hard to go back into that community because everybody kind of pulls at you and wants something. It's crazy when you're famous. People like, like, we had to pick and stuff's cool, but it's

like people, so weird, people want to treat you different, which I get to you. You're the same person. Same person. I've done some sweet shit in my life, but I'm the same person, and it's still so weird. But it's cool you can make people's days, and you know, you take a picture, shaking, bro, like shaking. Hey, I was talking to.

I went back to Stillwater recently and my cousin kept going. He was making fun of him. He's like, Daniel, please. I give you a cup of my blood. It's like, they're just like freaking out next to me like, I'll save you my blood, please, thank you. It's the craziest thing because you see people. It's like

if you sat with me for five minutes, I am the same person that you remember when I was in college, but you do have that impact and it has to matter. Was there a moment where you thought, hey man I'm actually getting pretty good at this when you were fighting when you were just kind of coming up last week

I was like damn I'm getting pretty good at this that's it no I uh I feel like I was it was so it's weird because I was one of those guys that when the lights turned on and it's Saturday night and I'm in the octagon I'm gonna win or in the cage I guess was an octagon before during sparring during like training

like I would get I would I feel like I would lose a lot but now come on Saturday night and I just showed up And I feel like I started getting very confident. Like, I know I could show up. But I feel like I started getting good. It was probably after I even got signed to UFC because I feel like I still knew I was so behind in the grappling world. And I'd say, you know, the, you know, I feel like the Eddie Weinland fights was like where I got real confidence.

It was my first big fight. The first time I had colored my hair. It was a viral knockout. I was like, damn, okay, I'm getting, I'm fucking getting good at this. So I feel like it was later on, I guess early on in my UFC career, I felt like I was getting good. You wanted to go, you thought you were going to the NFL? You actually thought you were going to go into the NFL. When I was in sixth, seventh grade, I thought I was going to be in the NFL.

When did you realize you were small? When I stopped growing, yeah, again, I'm around 30,000 people. I'm watching Chant Bailey, I'm Clinton Portis. I'm like, I'm going to be there. But, yeah, I just, I may, I didn't, yeah, I was, that one was crazy delusion. But I realized, you know, and a middle school. Well, seventh, eighth grade. I'm like, all right, I got to find something else.

That's when that reality hit a little bit. Yeah. And then you started playing basketball. I played basketball, football. I thought I wanted to be in something. I just wanted to compete my whole life. I'm like, that's what I wanted to do. And that was, I didn't watch kick by.

I don't watch fighting. So I didn't even think that was a... Yeah, yeah, for sure. A path. Yeah. A path. So when you're getting into fighting, right? You have moved to Arizona.

do you remember the first time you had to really peel yourself up any knockouts in training anything like that where you really got to get up off the ground? I'll tell you mine. I was sparring Kane Velazquez. And when I first, I know which sucks. I started sparring him

and I wanted to be cute. Right? I used to fight South Paul. Bro, he kicks me in the face. It was the craziest thing. Sean, I turned away from the fight. go, oh my God. And I put my hand on the rope, like, almost like submitting to him.

Like, dude, please don't kill me. It was in a ring? We used to spar in a ring at A.K. in the beginning. What, like, what year is this? Oh, this is like maybe I'm, I started fighting in 2009 at the end of O'9. Okay. So this is maybe in like 10. Okay.

Right? One year in. Yeah. But I never went Southball again in my life. But I remember when I broke my nose, I flew back to Oklahoma because I was going back and forth at the time. And I'm laying in the house with this broken. and I thought to myself,

I've got to be so committed to this thing if I want to be good that I moved to California. Was there a moment where you suffered something in the training room where you go, I've got to make some changes, man, and do things the right way? Well, when I moved to Arizona, it was like a daily.

It was pretty much, you know, I went to practice twice a day every day. Like that, I was very, very, very, very consistent in the gym. And most of the training practices were me going home just pretty like fuck but in my mind i'm like these guys have been training longer than me

they're older than me they're stronger than me they're stronger than me they're just better than me right now i haven't put in the work i was i was able to always always like reprogram my mind okay this is you know these guys are just better than me right now because they put in more work i know i'm super athletic i know i can learn quick and i know that i just need to stay consistent and i don't know where i got that mindset from because it wasn't like that really with anything else like school

like other sports looking back like I didn't really feel like I gave it my all this I'm like again I had no plan B I'm like I need to make this work so it was literally weekly like for the first three four years of being at the being in Arizona I was like I just kept getting my ass kicked to where you know I would question it but again no plan B I'm like just need to be in the gym need to be in the gym need to be in the gym need to be in the gym and I was I didn't party I didn't drink I didn't I got high a funny story actually the first time I got high was bro we trained twice a day and me and Tim are an apartment with two-bedroom apartment, it's 8.30 p.m. And I'm just like, let's go do something. He's like, bro, you need to chill out.

Take a puff. I'm like, nah, I don't do that. He's like, take a fucking puff. Yeah. I take a puff and I'm like, all right.

This is kind of nice. This is kind of nice. So that's how I started smoking because I just had too much energy. And Timela, you need to chill out. We already trained twice today and you want to go fucking,

you know, do stuff. So I started taking puffs and that actually I would say, you know, help me kind of train, recover, you know,

chill out for a little bit. But I didn't drink. I didn't party. It was, it was, I moved Arizona. I trained twice a day. I wanted to make this work and, uh, looking back on it. It's like, I'm very grateful that I did do. I had no other option. Like Friday night, I wasn't Friday night. Saturday night wasn't, it was just another night to try to sleep, recover and train again. And become a, and become a champion. That was the only thing my mind was set on was the only thing I cared about. That's crazy. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a

podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with the name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our. Our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. 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. you talk about moving Arizona, you save $2,000 to get there. Yep. Your job before? Were you working in a home with like adults that had? Yeah. Mental, there was a, it was a group home.

So it was like, what was it called? I forget, but it was like eight different group homes. And each group home was like a crazy mansion. And it was, there was eight bedrooms, eight clients. And I'd work from 6 to 9 a.m. I'd get there at 6, like, wake up, help them basically just do their chores, help them make lunch or breakfast, pack their lunch. lunch. I would drive the short bus,

listen to turn up the radio. We're jamming on the way to work. I drop them off. I get back, I'm off from 9 to 3. I get back at 3. I go pick them up, cruising the short bus. It was pretty sweet. I enjoyed it. It was really, it was a fun job. I really... I actually loved it. Were you able to make

connections with the people? Oh yeah. There was some... The disabilities were like, there were some where you could kind of like a full-blown conversation and then there was one girl. This is 2000, like 12, 13. There's this one girl that didn't, like, her tongue was so big. She had other things going on, but she couldn't talk.

So she's sign language. So I learned the whole alphabet. Come on. I didn't learn, I learned the whole alphabet because she would just spell stuff and, like, we'd write it out and just look. Like, that's how we communicated. And she was funny. She was like, uh-huh, uh-huh.

Like, she was, but she would always request that I gave her a shower. So I'm sitting there fucking spraying her. You were showering people and everything. She was like, 45, like older. And I was like, all right, lift your fucking boob. It was crazy And it was all to try to go and chase that dream Yeah I mean I was like I need to make money

Like I needed my goal was I'm gonna save up 2000 I paid off my car I had a 2006 Nissan Ultima It was $11,000 when I bought it And I saved that I was like I'm gonna pay my car off And I'm gonna save up $2,000 And then I was very very lucky and grateful I had local sponsors

Like sometimes it'd write me a $1,600 check And I was like holy shit like And I was I didn't spend money on nothing I saved all my money to pay for rent, the Wi-Fi, groceries. Like, I was very, very disciplined with my money. I wasn't buying anything I didn't need.

And, yeah, save that money up, drove there. Did work in there change your perspective? Like, when I grew up, my family, they did bricklaying. So one summer, that's hard. Dude, it's hard, and it's so hot down in Louisiana, right? Humid, hot, bugs everywhere. You start off as a laborer.

When you're, like, 13, 14 years old, It's almost like they're trying to like almost like form you into like knowing this is your future. And I said to myself, no chance. Bro, I got to be honest. Like the way I, yo, my shit was kind of fucked up. But you know what I did? I think I went to like the prison on like a field trip. Jesus.

I was like elementary school. This is crazy. It's like, yo, don't do this because you're going to end up here. But it was like they were trying to like form me to be better. And it impacted me. It changed the way I viewed life. working in that home, watching these people with the disabilities, they didn't make you realize, man, life can be really messed up.

Yeah, I definitely, like, I enjoyed, like, I sought out that job because I enjoyed working with people with mental disorders. I just thought it was very fun. Most of the time, they're just happy and good moods, and they're just different perspective on lives, and I enjoyed being around that. So I went after, I looked for a job that did that. Did that.

And I don't know. I feel like, I, I, I really enjoyed it. But yeah, gave me a different perspective on life and made me so grateful for being, you know, healthy and being able to do whatever, like be able to train and be able to do sports. Yeah, you know, you go to Arizona,

and I don't know that it feels like a gamble to you. You said you had no plan B, but this is a massive gamble. Yeah. You get the call for the contend the series. Dude, what does that call like for you when you're living the life that you're living at that point? Yeah, so right before that I fought on LFA

And it was my first time Because most of my fights were Montana I had 14 amateur MMA fights Which was a lot Like I remember coming to Arizona And there was guys who were like 28 years old Like 2 and O amateur Like trying to get fights

And I'm like 18 with 12 fights Like I had a lot of experience Fighting Montana So I turned pro I fight in Montana Like all my fights were Montana And then I have this fight in Arizona As in LFA is like Big promotion for me

He was outside of Montana It was different And I was so excited I was like this is the big league I'm fighting on a different event It just felt so much different And I fought this kid named David Nuzzo I call him David Snewzo

Because I slept him But I had this viral knockout It was crazy I hit him with a head kick And do a wheel kick And I was literally working on that With Tim on the Mitz Like yo this would be sick

If I threw this head kick And like you know Kind of forced him to go that way With the head And then I was working on like A week before the fight And the opportunity was there I hit it.

I was like, this is crazy. And I knew Sean Shelby was supposed to be at that fight. Wasn't there, but I knew

Contender Series was this thing being talked about. You know, this Dana White's Tuesday night fight. It's like, this is going to be a new thing. It was like 6 and O

or 5 and or whatever. I go out there get a knockout. I'm for sure getting on there. Yeah. And I, yeah, I'm like, hey, you want to fight?

Alfred Koshakian. Yeah. June 6th or whatever the fucking date was. I was like, hell yeah, look him up. Just shredded fucking Russian

dude. Eight and three with eight. eight and three with eight K uh T KOs all of his TKOs were ground and pound so I don't know yeah I was like all right well fuck here we go worst camp my life there was I got Rob Emerson fucking need me in the jaw weeks before weeks out bad concussion at home puking lights off during the day just like horrible bro I weighed in at 136 I walked in the cage at 139 really yeah I mean I was I was super skinny at that point anyway but I was like not healthy. My brain, it was not in a good spot. But you had to take the fight. I mean,

I didn't have to, but in my mind I did. I might have passed this opportunity up. That self-belief, that delusional self-belief. I said, it don't, and I'm coming off six knockouts

in a row or something. I'm like, I'm just gonna fucking knock this guy out, whatever. And, and yeah, in the back, just confident,

like, I'm gonna go out there and do what I do. And I was tired of a motherfucker looking back on that fight. I'm like, if it got out of the first round,

I might have a heart attack. Really? I would just so, I mean, it was, it was, yeah, it was a big moment. But, yeah, Snoop Dog was commentating. He was going crazy. And it was, this was, like, one of the first times I had this, like, I realized how important the manifestation is or call it whatever we want. I remember having this thought, I'm like, I'm going to go out there, have a performance where I'm going to make Snoop Dog want to meet me. Like, that was, I literally remember telling people that, thinking that, and I listen to the fight back.

I go home, I watch it, or watch it wherever I watch it. Snoop Dog, after the. fight. I want to meet that kid, man. Screaming. I want to meet that kid. I remember going to the fight. I want to have a performance where Snoop Dog wants to meet me. And I was like, holy shit. I remember thinking that, like, self-belief and just believe in that and telling

myself that. And I felt like I manifested that, and I feel like that played a big role in my career. Could you feel life change right away after that? Like, maybe not financially, but recognition, knowing that you and Snoop are smoking with Snoop Dog, life is going crazy for you right away. Could you feel it right in the moment? Yeah, I was a little nervous

because, again, I'm only 23 years old and I'm like, God, I'm in the UFC and I knew I still had so much to work on. But I was like, I just knock, I just, the high you get from knock someone out, it's great. It's the best. Then I'm put the on top of,

Dana White signing me to the UFC. On top of that, I'm smoking with Snoop Dog, all within like the same hour I knocked with Snoop. I get signed at UFC, I'm smoking with Snoop. I'm 23. I'm like, what? I feel like I was in a movie.

I cannot believe what's happening right now. It was just, it was so, it didn't feel really. I was like, what the... But yeah, financially, you know, I think you make five and five in the Contenner Series. $10,000. I had a little bit money saved up, like a couple thousand bucks. I'm like, I'm going to buy a house.

That sounds smart. And so, yeah, boom, bought a house. With $10,000? Down payment. Bro, where do you live? It was 2017. I bought a house for $220,000. And it was...

I recently sold it for like $380 or something. Really? It was my... Yeah, it wasn't a nice house by any means. But still, it's a house. You can't buy a house in California for $10,000. Dude, yeah, Arizona. I can go live in somebody's front yard with a $10,000 down payment.

It don't work over there. But in those moments, right, it's Sean O'Malley, right? O'Malley, O'Malley. It's not the Sugar Show, though. It's not the Sugar Show. When did that come about? Like you said, that fight where you got that knockout, the first time you dyed your hair.

You become Sean O'Malley, but it's welcome to the Sugar Show. it's a difference. When did that come about? So the Welcome to the Sugar Show, I remember thinking on the Continental Series, I'm like, I gotta have something witty to say after. I knocked the kid, I got on the ring,

I got on the top of the cage right there, and I said, welcome to the Sugar Show, right to Dana White right there. So right after, so I think I fought in June, and then in December I fight Terry on Ware, which,

that was a crazy fight. That was a three round, back and forth, first round I won, second round he won, third round, I make it happen, I get it,

I dig deep because I was gas the fuck out. Was that the one with the ankle? No, the very next fight. So Terry on where I win in December. Now we're fast forward to March. I'm fighting Andre's Sucumtah, a.k-a-A. Andre's soccer mom. He was so mad. I called him Soccer Mom. Disrespect

my family. Disrespect my last name. And he was just so mad. But yeah, that was where I snapped my foot. Three minutes left in the fight, snapped my foot. I'm hopping on one foot. Still piecing him up. And he took me down, thank God. And then the fight ended on the ground. My dumb ass actually got up once

and they took me back down. And that was the fight where I snapped my foot. Yeah. That sucked. That sucked. But when did you build the guy, the character? Yeah. So I break my foot, get, do that, go through that whole fucking suspension thing.

Might be a good segue there. But we do the whole suspension thing. And then I come back. I fight Jose Quinois, 2020, the very last arena show before COVID. 2020, knock out Jose Cignonas, come back. And a few months later, I fight Eddie Wineland. And I'm like, I'm going to, I'm going to fuck. and color my hair. I want to be a character. I want to

I want to... If I was sitting on the couch, who do I want to watch? Like, what I want to see characters. I want to see people that make you want to watch them because there's so many people that's fights all the time. And there's so many people you don't really care about. I'm like, I want to be someone who cares about it. I was not getting people out. I want to stand out. I die my hair, have this fro. And I come to fight week and it was crazy. I had UFC title fight media. Like I had nonstop media, nonstop. And I was like, damn. And then I go out there knock out Eddie Winland

at the apex and you literally hear him snore I think you even commentated he's like man you could hear him snore He was snoring it was crazy bro That was I hit him with a punch A lot of times you hear that when people get kicked You hit him with a punch and that happened

That was crazy to me I mean him smacking his head off the canvas spread Didn't help much but yeah that was that was crazy That I really felt like But then my very next fight I fight Cheeto Vera Yep yep yep And that didn't that one didn't go so well Looking back on how my entire

careers played out. It was such a blessing in disguise. The Cheeto fight. Yeah. For sure. Again, I'm 20. Now, I'm older now, but I'm still, I feel like still got a lot of room to grow. I go out there and beat Cheeto that first fight. It was a co-main event on you and you and Steve-Pay. I was a co-main event. I'm like, where would I have gone from after beating Cheeto? I would have really got up into the top like 10. And I don't know, I don't think I was ready for that. I go out there, I lose to Cheeto, supposedly. And then I come back to fight Thomas Almeida. If that Cheeto 1 fight didn't happen,

I don't get that Thomas Omeida knockout. So I feel like it just everything played out how it was supposed to. And yeah, it's fun sitting here talking just like going back into my mind and like from seeing how my careers played out. And it's just so that Cheeto 1 fight got so much hate. I said, I'm mentally undefeated. I didn't lose that fight. He didn't beat me because he was better than me,

fluke accident, whatever. Like whatever. But I got a lot of attention for saying I'm mentally undefeated. A lot of hate, a lot of love, like a lot of sugar fans, like die hard. like, yeah, fuck that, mentally undefeated. But a lot of people are like, bro, you're so, like, own it. You fucking lost. And I was like, I didn't.

How was that? How was dealing with that type of backlash? Because, again, you have the championship media, right? Yeah. You have the hair. You have the looks. The eyes are on you. You're knocking people out.

You lose this fight. You start to see the other side of fame. The other side of fame can be very, very ugly. And the bigger the platform, the more you feel it. Like, how was dealing with that as a young guy? right? Yeah. That is just really seeing that for the first time. Again, now I'm, now I'm getting doubted. Now I'm like, oh, all you got to do is kick his legs. Like, now I'm here in the, oh, he's got to kick his leg. Now I'm fighting Thomas Almeda.

Great kickboxer. Like, he wasn't, he had lost some fights, but he was still at one point, like 21 and 0. Yeah, he was the fucking man. And it's my return fight. Good kickboxer. You know, go out there. And I was excited. I was fueled up from all the, all the hate. So I took that hate. It's funny how people, say hate because I want you to feel like a negative emotion. Yeah. But then also all those haters were really just fueling me. Like I was like, yes. Like all you guys do is kick my leg.

You guys, you get, watch this. Watch this. Yeah. And then I go out there and put on a beautiful performance and knock them out twice and have a crazy walkoff knockout. And it just adds to the highlight reel. So, you know, it was, it definitely fueled me. Like, I liked it. Could you feel that championship moment starting to come?

Could you feel it building? Because now you're not just, people wanted to label you a hype job. They really did want you to be, this guy's just hype. And then you kept proving them wrong over and over and over. Could you feel, though, hey man, I'm about to get an opportunity to fight for this belt. Like, when did you realize, I'm about to get a chance to fight for this title? Yeah, so right after Thomas was, I think I was supposed to fight Louis Smolka. He pulled out 10 days before, 12 days before.

That's when the Chris Montigno stepped up. Oh, my God, you beat him so bad. Yeah, my hands hurt for like two months from him. him. So that fight, you know, grew my popularity because it was just such a, it was such a fun fight. But it was like, I didn't, I went, I beat a guy who just got signed. It didn't really move me up. But at the time, I didn't really care. And I always was like, dude, I'm not. But, wait, I was, I didn't care that I was fighting these guys. I'm not getting paid that much. You're making 30 and 30. 40. 40. 40.

You would say that publicly, though. I'm like, I don't want to fight these guys for $40,000. They're like, what about, what about, like, Aljo wasn't the champ at the time? And what about these other guys? I'm like, I would rather fight Chris Montigno. I don't really care to fight anybody else. Like, I would rather fight Holly on Piva next. That was my next fight. And like, I was not looking to get pushed forward.

Until you got paid the way. I didn't necessarily think I was ready. Like, if they would have offered it to me, I would have been like, I don't know what I would have said. But I wasn't pushing forward those bigger fights because I'm like, I'm not making that much money right now. And the way the UFC works is you got to go out there and win a lot of fucking fights in a row

before you start making real money. That's just what it is. You're not going to win four fights in a row and start making six figures. You got to get up to that. And I was like, I want to build a resume. I want to build knockouts. Like, I will fight the worst guy possible.

Give me the worst guy on the roster and I want to fight that guy. Yeah. You get that title fight against Al Jermaine Sterling, but now you're a star. Yeah. I mean, your music hits that arena in Boston. People went crazy, bro.

It was the loudest. It was insane. It was insane the way that they responded to you. But with that comes pressure, the pressure of becoming the champion. How did you handle the pressure of that moment as a guy that's in his first UFC championship? Yeah, that was an interesting one. Before that, I fought, so I fought Peter and Abu Dhabi. I was ranked number 11.

He was ranked number one. Literally two through 10 had, they were fighting each other. There was nobody else booked. I reached out of the UFC. It was right after I supposedly poked Pedro. Munoz in the eye. And I was like, I need a fight. I don't like this feeling.

I need to get a fight. And they said, Peter Yon's the only one without a fight. I said, perfect. Like, I'm ready. Let's do it. They're like, my, they call Peter. They,

Peter, you know, supposedly accepts the fight. I feel like they said, yo, you're fighting Sean. And he's like, fuck. All right, whatever. So we're in Abu Dhabi, October 22nd, 2002. And that was a big moment for me. I knew, like, I was like,

damn, this is, this is it. I'm fighting Peter Yon, who in my opinion still is, one of the best pound for pound fighters of all time. He's just super skilled. He's very good. And I think he underestimated me a little bit. I think, you know, that was a close fight.

I won the fight. And, yeah, it was great. Fast forward to the Aljo fight. He's the greatest bantam weight of all time at the time, still, you know, dependent on how you look at the division, whatever. He's up there. He's up one of the, I think Peter and Aljo, obviously Marab, Those three are probably the three greatest band of all time.

Over Dominic Cruz and Suhuro and those guys? I mean, in my opinion, yeah. I think so. Yeah, but anyway, Aljo, I was, you know, had a bad rib injury going to that fight. You know, we didn't grapple at all. It was not an ideal. It was not ideal.

In Boston. I'm not pulling out of the fight. I was like, if this motherfucker grabs a hold of me, he's freakishly strong, he's the fucking backpack. I'm like, this could end bad. Yeah. This is my first title fight. And it's against the absolute worst stylistic matchup for me.

Like, it's just this. I'm like, I have to go out there and knock this motherfucker out. I have to have no choice. I have to land this right hand on his chin. And I'm going to fucking make and wait and make him make a mistake. He's going to make the mistake. And you hit him with that right hand and put him out. That place went crazy.

Boston was, there was literally six Aljo. They did the stats. There was six Aljo fans in there. Bro, you got, you're making that off. No, no, they did it. You're such a neat. You're producing. Six U.S.C.

That place was the most electric. I fought, I fought Cheeto in Miami, and it was still electric, but the Boston was crazy. There was. You could hear the chance. You even watch it back the fight. Fuck you, Aljo. I did hear that. It's crazy.

And I hit him with that right hand. I was at the PI today, and they have it playing on one of the screens. And I was like, that right hand was so fucking fast. It just was crazy. It really gave me McGregor vibes when he knocked out of Aldo. I said it. I was like, yo, it just reminds me. It was very similar.

And I could feel your star just rise. Before I let you go, Sean, businessman. Yes, sir. You're a businessman, bro. Obviously, you start businesses. They do very well. You had your marijuana stuff. Yeah, a little bit.

No, didn't you have like a company or something? So this is, I'll say this. I've been sponsored by, by, by, businesses. I've had equity deals to where I'm like small, small, small owners and, you know, decent brands. This is different. Doing well is something that I own 50%

of. And I would love for you to try it. It's very, it's, it's, uh, this is a raspberry. Okay. It's, um, a performance electrolyte drink mix. It is you know, made with organic ingredients when possible. It's third party tested DC. That's good. That's fucking delicious.

It's very good. high sodium for athletes you sweat. Especially for after like a lot of calories, burning, sweating. After a sauna? I mean, I drink two a day. I drink one in the morning. First thing I do when I hydrate, I drink that before my coffee. But then after a sauna, oh my God, I could chug one of these.

It's actually really good. I like it. I like it a lot, actually. But yeah, no, it's, it's very fun. It's very, starting a business, this has been a year in the making. We're finally, you know, on the market now on the website. and we're finally there, but it's been a year. You know, you come up with an idea.

I've wanted to create something. I wanted to make my own brand. I eventually want this to be bigger. It's called doing well. It's not called, you know, sugar. It's not, I don't want it to be associated with me eventually. I want it to be outgrow my name because it's such a quality product product. And, yeah, it's really good.

And fatherhood. Oh, my goodness. How's fatherhood changed? Sugar Shanao Mal. Oh, man. I have a nine-month-old at home and a five-year-old daughter. I have a boy and a girl. It is literally, I knew I wanted, I remember I broke up with a girl in middle school,

because she said you don't want kids. I'm like, nah. You knew you wanted a family? I knew I wanted a kid. I, for whatever reason, I knew I wanted to be a dad at a young age. Thank God I didn't get no girls pregnant in high school because I was reckless. I was reckless. But God was looking out.

He said, you know what, it's not your time. You're not going to do that. Yeah. So, but yeah, having kids was a perfect timing. 2000, 2020 is when I had a land of my first, and it was right, it was, right, it was, It was right when I first made my 100,000. I was like, the first time I made six figures, I was starting to actually become a little bit more famous.

And then we have Elena who was, wasn't on purpose, but it felt like my whole life feels like there's a higher power, not super religious in any way, any means, but I feel like that someone's looking out for me. Because the way my life's played out, my career's played out and just like having Elena at that moment because I was starting to make some money and I'm 23, 24, and I was just like, you know, at that age you start making money.

I thought I was rich as fuck. I made $100,000 in my bank. I'm like, oh, I can buy anything. So, and, like, and I had drank until I was 21. So, like, I had just, I never really got a party, but then you, you dream. I'm like, oh, I can see how people go down the wrong path. This shit's fun. Especially whenever you're, you're getting all the love, you're getting it.

Because now you have access to everything. It's bad. You can get anywhere, and you don't pay for nothing. No. Just walk into a club, got a table, chicks, and it's, you know, so, like, I was experienced in that. And then all of a sudden, now my girl's pregnant, who I've been with for, you know, 11 years now. And, you know, so having the family completely settled me down. It was perfect timing.

I love nothing more than being a dad. I love that I don't have to work 9 to 5. I get a, you know, I can bring the kids to the gym. My daughter does Jiu-Jitsu Monday through Friday. She's competing soon. And it was a blessing in disguise. I knew I wanted kids eventually. I didn't know if I was ready at the time, but it was great.

When they watch your career one day, what do you want your kids to take from that watching their dad, Sugar Shahnelma? Yeah, Elena, she was at my fight. For the first time, she went to the actual fight against Song, and I was like, damn, this is a risky fight to bring my daughter to. His song's explosive and he knocks motherfuckers out. I'm like, but, you know, I was confident. I'm like, I'm going to go in there, fight my fight, do what I do, and I'm going to get my hand raised. But I want them to, you know, I don't know. I don't know.

I haven't really thought about, like, what do I want them? I want, I'm giving it my all while I'm, while I can. I'm 31. I want to, until, until I'm like, okay, I can't get into the shape I need to get into a fight. That's what I'll call it quits. But I'm going to, until, I'm just going to fight until that. A couple quick ones for you before I let you go. Obviously, with your name recognition, people are constantly calling for you.

Corey Sanhagen is the guy now wants to fight at the White House. But you don't seem very interested in this. How do you handle that? People are always kind of want to attach their name to the show? Because it's not just the name, Sean O'Malley. It's attached himself to the brand, right? Because if they can get a victory, it immediately elevates them. There's so many different ways I can go with my answer.

But I know he always says I'm ducking him. He made a whole thing the other day. Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's been fights where I've asked for Corey. I asked UFC for Corey and it didn't work out. But at the end of the day, it's like the UFC calls me. I say, they say, hey, you want to fight? I say yes.

I've never turned Corey down once ever in my life. They've never offered me Corey, and I said no. I'm not scared of Corey. I mean, we fought the same guys. He's fought Aljo. Yeah, I fought Aljo. He's fought Peter. I fought Peter.

I'm pretty sure. Yeah, they both beat him. I beat both them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They did. Yeah.

Potential fight with Peoria Young? I mean, would you be willing to wait for that? Man, I'm. I want to be on the White House card. If they give, hey, Sugar, you want to be on the White House card? Yes, I want to be on the White House card. I don't think it's going to be Peter, your bucking back surgery or whatever. Could you imagine being on the White House card?

That'd be the craziest thing ever. The way they're making it sound, it's like, how could I not? Like, I'm healthy. We need Americans on there. We need Americans. We need stars. It's massive. And, you know, I think they miss out an opportunity not putting the Sugar Show on there.

I'm so excited. Supposedly Dana's announcing the fight tomorrow. And I, like, I'm so. curious because the UFC's always someone knows something. Someone always knows something who's going to be the main event, who's going to be the... I don't, I truly don't think anybody knows anything.

Do you know? I know some things. I might know a few things. You can't be quiet because I haven't heard of nothing. It's literally you feel like you will die if you tell somebody. You can't tell anybody anything. Hey, 135, you're making the weight pretty comfortably. But there was a time

where you talked about going up to 145. Like, is that in the future or no? Man, I feel like I probably talked about it when I was having it, like, in the middle of a weight cook. Those motherfuckers suck. People, you'll be like, so you'll get to fight week, how much weight you got? Oh, 10 pounds. And someone's like, oh, that's not bad. I'm like, shut the fuck up.

It's the worst. Look at me. I got to lose 10 pounds. What do you mean? It's not bad. It's the cutting weight sucks. And, you know, outside of camp, like, now I'm like, all right, I can do that again. But then you get down to the last, like, fight week.

And you're like, how the fuck do I do this? I love the idea of fighting at the weight, your natural weight. I'll walk around 155. I could make I maybe be 156 Maybe 157 You're gonna fight a guy That's 190

But I'm gonna fight a guy that's 190 But I'm gonna But if I do that Like all right fucking Justin You're ready brother Like I'm not dying To give my head knocked off But if it was same day

Way ends like you know Three hours before You'll still get people Trying to cut Still put you out Do the thing But But then also part of me

Is like I feel like I work with Dan Garner Nutritionist Absolute nerd Loves the Love the science of nutrition And so I'm like I do feel like

have an advantage with the weight cut and the rehydration because I feel like I do it as scientifically as perfect as possible. I feel like I have an advantage over fucking songs chugging a Coke for rehydration. Really? Fucking, what are you doing? Like, what you put in your body those 20, those 36 hours before the fight is what fuels you to fight? And I'm not put, I'm, I'm doing it as clean as a possible. And then my motherfucker's eating pancakes and like, I'm like, hey, I feel like I'm going to take that as an advantage and I'm going to go in there more, you know, properly hydrated than these guys so I'll take that on the way out Sean what do you want people to remember about you when

you're done um you know I I I exciting um I try to bring a level of focus to fighting um and just I would say the flow the the flow I can get into is something that I work on and uh I feel like I have that just naturally but I think you can get better at that and I feel like I have gotten better at that. And I just say I really do give my 100% of this sport outside of fight camp. I'm still eating, clean, training, trying to be as

smart as possible. And, you know, I'm given my entire soul to this sport. And I think, you know, I'm 31. I've had 16, 16 fights in UFC. I'd like to you know, be in the 20s eventually. And yeah, I mean, I don't know, really.

Just exciting, fun, fast. Yeah. accurate. Too sharp, too fast, two focus. That's always my model going into these fights. And, uh, you know, I guess that would be it. Sean, too sharp, too fast, too focused. You've done good, my guy. Thanks, sir.

Hey, where can we find this? Where can we find everything sugar show them before I let you go? I mean, doing well. Dot health is we got raspberry. We got coconut lime. We're working on a mango. And it's third party tested. We're going to move into some supplements and stuff. It's a great shit. Guys, it's very, very good.

Sean, thank you for joining us. Guys, follow. Sugar Sean O'Malley and everything he does. Let's hope that when this releases, Sean has been announced a fight on the White House card. Guy does deserve that opportunity. Until next time, guys, thank you for watching another episode of the Daniel Cormier show.

For Sean O'Malley, I'm D.C. We'll catch you the next one. Peace. Peace. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick.

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