Sean O’Malley pulled out a surprise from his bag of skills by playing the harmonica in a recent interview
UFC bantamweight fighter Sean O’Malley is a man of many talents- a highly skilled fighter, a bona fide fashion maverick, weed connoisseur to name a few. Add playing the harmonica to that list. O’Malley spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, to touch upon his recently announced fight against former bantamweight victor, Petr Yan.
O’Malley’s rise to the top from his days at the Dana White Contender Series is truly remarkable. It is safe to say that he is the most popular and perhaps the best fighter to emerge from the series, and the ‘Suga Show’ has become a staple on major PPV’s.
The stacked UFC 280 card will also feature a clash between him and Russian assassin Petr Yan, in what will undoubtedly be his biggest test so far.
Any doubts or criticism that fans had regarding Sean O’Malley cherry-picking his opponents has been laid to rest with the announcement of his fight against Petr Yan. The event is scheduled to be held at UFC 280, in Abu Dhabi, seemingly in enemy territory. While O’Malley believes that it is a great match-up, he believes that it is a risky fight for Yan.
During his interview with Ariel Helwani, the American fighter showcased one of his rarely known talents of playing the harmonica, which even surprised the host. It also served as a nice little intro to the interview that caught Helwani by delight. He reacted by saying ”I love that. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.”
‘No one taking a random percentage for being a middleman’ – Why doesn’t Sean O’Malley have a manager?
For many fighters, working with a manager they can trust becomes crucial to navigate their way around a contract, and get the best deal possible. They also help them secure the right match-up from ranking, and competition point of view, and seldom does it occur that a fighter does not have a manager on board. None of these has been a challenge for Sean O’Malley, who has not only secured the best possible deal for him, but has also landed the best possible fights in his career trajectory. He is all set to face the former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, in the biggest test of his career at UFC 280.
Even without a manager, O’Malley has emerged as a huge superstar, with his YouTube channel, and partnership with the Nelk Boys. He has turned out into a household name in the USA, and this fight with Petr Yan will help him spread his fame and popularity to the Asian terrain.
It is noticeable that for a young fighter like O’Malley it takes massive courage to make the decision of not having a manager. And his decision has paid off big time. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, O’Malley touched upon the subject a little bit, and his decision to not hire a manager.
He said, “I am my management… Solo dolo, no middleman, no one taking a random percentage for being a middleman. I do all my own deals, and s**t gets done right.”
He added, “Well, say UFC gets a sponsorship deal and then whoever handles that at the UFC, they’re like ‘oh, UFC wants Sean O’Malley, I’m going to go to his management’ and then their management takes 20%, 15%, whatever, just to tell me about the deal, not to do anything, just to say ‘hey, UFC called, you want to do this deal?.’ Same thing with fight pay money too, you want 15% of my money because you did what? No, that ain’t happening. Oh, you want some of the bonus, too? Yeah, not happening.”
More MMA news
- Khamzat Chimaev says he is coming for the welterweight title
- Khamzat Chimaev wants Conor McGregor to call “uncle” Dana…
- Dana White “100 percent” wants to see Khamzat Chimaev vs Nate
Follow our dedicated MMA page for instant MMA news and updates
