Ex-UFC Champ Sean O’Malley made an ’embarrassing’ realization last weekend.
It’s been two weeks since O’Malley dropped his title rematch to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316, putting him in a tough spot in his fighting career.
O’Malley took criticism after criticism following his submission loss to Dvalishvili.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall said O’Malley ‘didn’t want to be in there’ while former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt stated ‘Suga’ looked like ‘s—‘ at UFC 316.
Garbrandt fought and lost to Raoni Barcelos last weekend at UFC Atlanta, sporting a new look that was somewhat reminiscent of O’Malley, with his body and face covered in tattoos and his hair braided.
As it turns out, O’Malley wasn’t a fan.
Sean O’Malley says people probably look at him like a tatted Cody Garbrandt: ‘So embarrassing’
Watching UFC Atlanta on Saturday night, O’Malley wasn’t so much irked by Garbrandt’s critical comments towards him but instead his new look.
“You know what was annoying?” O’Malley said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“When I saw his hair was braided and he’s got those face tattoos, I was like, f—. That’s how people see me.
“It was just so embarrassing,” O’Malley continued.
“I was like, oh god, I need to f—— get a new look.
“I was like, holy s—, that was an eye opener. I was like, goddamn it. That’s how people probably look at me. It was embarrassing.”
Sean O’Malley crossed paths with Cody Garbrandt at past press conference
While the former champions may have never fought, Garbrandt and O’Malley got into it at UFC 269.
After a war of words on Twitter and on-stage, Garbrandt and O’Malley faced off at the UFC 269 press conference in Dec. 2021 and had to be separated by security.
O’Malley insulted Garbrandt, saying he won one fight since 2017.
Garbrandt responded to the unranked ‘Suga’ by voicing he hadn’t fought anyone.
“He understands when he jumps up in competition, his hype goes away,” Garbrandt said of O’Malley.
In 2025, both bantamweights have seen their stocks drop with back-to-back losses.
Time will tell if they ever meet in the Octagon, but it’s unlikely to happen with O’Malley the current #1 contender and Garbrandt unranked in the bantamweight division.