Sean O’Malley has rapidly become one of the UFC’s biggest stars. Following an electric start to life in the UFC, O’Malley has shot up the rankings in no time. However, ahead of his title shot against Aljamain Sterling, O’Malley has put out a rather cryptic tweet.
Taking to Twitter, O’Malley wrote, “Mma managers are soooo bad. 🤣 stay tuned”. Whilst O’Malley is yet to reveal who and what exactly he is referring to, the tweet has prompted loads of responses online. Notably, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was also quick to react to O’Malley’s tweet, responding with an eye and a popcorn emoji.
Mma managers are soooo bad. 🤣 stay tuned.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) July 18, 2023
Ever since O’Malley bested former champ Petr Yan at UFC 280, there has been a lot of talk about whether O’Malley will face Sterling next. Recently, after Sterling’s victory over Henry Cejudo, the champ, and O’Malley nearly came to blows as well. Thus, it was all but confirmed that O’Malley would be the next challenger to the throne.
However, O’Malley’s comments have put the fight world on notice, with many suspecting that the 28-year-old might not fight on August 19. With Aljamain Sterling previously stating that O’Malley will likely make an excuse and pull out of the fight, fans now believe that it may well happen. Although some fans are already assuming the worst, there is a possibility that O’Malley could be referring to something else entirely.
Sean O’Malley is his own management
Ahead of his fight against Petr Yan, ‘Suga’ spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. Among a variety of topics that the duo discussed, O’Malley revealed that he was in fact handling all his business and management affairs by himself. A rising star and one of the brightest prospects in the UFC, O’Malley is also a YouTuber, podcaster, and streamer.
Thus, being a relatively bigger name in the UFC roster, O’Malley felt the need to take matters into his own hands. “I am my management,” The Sugar Show told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Solo dolo. No middleman, no one taking a random percentage for being a middleman. I do all my own deals and s*** gets done right.” With managers taking a sizeable chunk of the fighter’s earnings, it is no surprise that fighters, like O”Malley choose to represent themselves.
Further, O’Malley added, “You want 15 percent of my money because you did what? No, that ain’t happening. Oh, you want some of the bonus too? That ain’t happening.” Notably, Colby Covington also represented himself and negotiated the terms for his fight against Jorge Masvidal. Similarly, Aljamain Sterling and Dominick Cruz have also advocated against fighters having managers and taking large cuts from them.
Whilst it is still unknown what exactly O’Malley is referring to with his cryptic tweet, there is a growing belief that he is likely referring to another fighter. Additionally, there is no update from the UFC about the fight being rescheduled either. Do you think O’Malley will pull out of the fight? Who could he be referring to with his tweet? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.