Current UFC bantamweight champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley credits Snoop Dogg with playing a huge role in his development from MMA standout to bonafide superstar.
In 2017, the iconic hip-hop star was right there when O’Malley made his memorable appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. Facing Alfred Kashakyan, ‘Sugar’ put on a mesmerizing performance, scoring a highlight-reel-worthy knockout with just 45 seconds left in the bout. After the finish, Snoop Dogg famously shouted O’Malley’s name over and over again, which only served to further hype his inevitable UFC debut.
O’Malley gave an interview earlier this week. breakfast club And he admitted that this viral moment helped propel him to stardom.
“Oh, it’s huge. It’s huge, it’s huge,” O’Malley said. “It’s crazy how my career turned out. That was the beginning of the insanity. Snoop Dogg describes a fight on the Contender Series when I was 21, 22 years old. It’s the first time they’ve done it. I knocked the guy out and he yelled “O’Malley” about 30 times. That was crazy.”h/t MMA Mania).
Sean O’Malley can’t fully remember his conversation with Snoop Dogg
What made the moment even more memorable was the backstage interaction between O’Malley and Snoop Dogg. As “Sugar” tells it, he joined “Dogfather” in his trailer to eat some of the finest sticky ickies money can buy. O’Malley was too high to remember what they talked about.
“I don’t remember because I was so high,” he said. “We were in a trailer and they just kept passing us. We got out of the trailer and there were a lot of cameras there. A lot of people around. Probably 3, up until the fight. I haven’t had a cigarette in four weeks. I got a crazy knockout. I just signed with the UFC. I’m smoking with Snoop right now, and when I get home from my trailer, it’s like something out of a movie. I felt like it. It was crazy. I don’t remember anything I said.”
Today, Sean O’Malley has an impressive 9-1 record on the inside. octagon (According to him, he has 10 wins and 0 losses), and he defeated Aljamain Sterling by knockout in the second round at UFC 292 in August, and currently sits at the top of the bantamweight championship. “Sugar” will make his first defense of the 135-pound title at UFC 299 in March against Marlon Tito Vera, his only loss under the UFC banner.
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