UFC Champ Sean O’Malley Credits Snoop Dogg with Helping his career blow up: ‘That was crazy’
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley believes Snoop Dogg played a big role in his rise from MMA standout to bonafide superstar.
In 2017, the iconic hip-hop star was on hand when O’Malley made a memorable appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. Facing Alfred Khashakyan, ‘Sugar’ delivered a captivating performance, scoring a highlight-reel-worthy knockout with only 45 seconds left in the fight. Following the finish, Snoop Dogg famously yelled O’Malley’s name over and over again which helped add a level of hype behind his inevitable UFC debut.
Earlier this week, O’Malley sat down for an interview with The Breakfast Club and acknowledged that the viral moment helped boost his stardom.
“Oh, huge. Massive, massive,” O’Malley said. “It’s crazy how my career has played out. That was the beginning of the craziness. Snoop Dogg is commentating on my fight when I was 21, 22 on the Contender Series. It’s the first time they’ve done it. I knock that dude out, and he yells ‘O’Malley’ like 30 times. That was crazy” (h/t MMA Mania).
Sean O’Malley can’t quite remember his conversation with Snoop Dogg
Making the moment even more memorable was O’Malley’s behind-the-scenes interaction with Snoop Dogg. As ‘Sugar’ tells it, he joined ‘The Doggfather’ in his trailer to partake in some of the finest sticky icky that money can buy. As for what they spoke about, O’Malley got so high that he can’t even remember.
“I don’t even remember, I got so high,” he said. “We were in the trailer, and they just kept passing it. I walked out of the trailer, and there were a bunch of cameras. A bunch of people around. I hadn’t smoked, probably for three or four weeks leading up to a fight. I just got a crazy knockout. I just got signed to the UFC. Now I’m smoking with Snoop and when I was leaving the trailer, that felt like a movie. That was crazy. I don’t remember what we talked about at all.”
Today, Sean O’Malley is an impressive 9-1 inside the Octagon (10-0 if you ask him) and currently sits atop the bantamweight throne following a stunning second-round knockout of Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August. ‘Sugar’ is slated to make his first defense of the 135-pound crown at UFC 299 in March against the only man to hand him a loss under the UFC banner, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
