In the UFC, the top fighters mark the times. Through hard-hitting knockouts, highlight-worthy performances and eccentric weigh-in theatrics, every passing pay-per-view is stamped by the sport’s biggest, toughest athletes.
And in today’s fight world, there’s no question as to who’s controlling the clock: “It’s Suga Time.”
Since joining the UFC in 2017, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has given the sport plenty of memorable moments, all with a colorful combo of personality, flair and (of course) toughness. Yet despite the fight-night spectacles, the 28-year-old remains regimented and disciplined behind the scenes, filling his schedule with attentive training and recovery routines to help keep his body ready for the next moment in the octagon.
It only makes sense, then, that Timex — the Official Timekeeper and Watch Partner of the UFC — partnered with O’Malley to announce its all-new collection of watches showcasing similar notes of toughness and aesthetics.
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Through this Timex partnership, I was lucky enough to catch up with O’Malley ahead of his main event bantamweight title fight against Aljamain Sterling. Before ‘Suga Time’ takes over Boston at UFC 292 this weekend, here are the highlights of our wide-ranging chat.
For starters, how are you feeling heading into UFC 292?
I feel good. I feel like every time I’ve fought in the last however many fights that I was the main event. In my mind, I’m always the main event. The only thing different is it’s five rounds, not three rounds. That’s a big difference.
“In my mind, I’m always the main event. I love the bright lights and the canvas under my feet.”
I’m 100 percent in the best shape I’ve ever been in, preparing for a five-round fight compared to a three-round fight. Yeah, feeling great, very excited to go out there and perform. I love the bright lights and the canvas under my feet.
Do you feel like you’re going to feed off the Boston crowd, or is the location a non-factor when it’s time to perform?
It definitely doesn’t matter. Obviously, the last fight was in Abu Dhabi — I showed up just fine. Boston, I’ve never been there before but I’m very excited to be there. I think the Irish fans will go absolutely insane, and yeah, I’m very excited to perform in Boston.
With this bantamweight title fight, do you feel any sense of pressure given your status as one of the UFC’s brightest stars?
I got into the UFC in 2017. It’s 2023 now so, I feel like I’m a vet. I feel like I’ve been in the UFC for a while now. I think it’s like my 11th fight or so.
I don’t feel any extra pressure. I feel like I’ve gotten really good at performing in the moment and I know what time, what day I need to show up, and I do it. I feel like I’m a professional when it comes to that. So, ever since I got into the UFC, I’ve always felt like I can show up.
Chris UngerAre there any unique aspects to your training program or fight camp that align with your eccentric persona?
Outside of fight camp and inside of fight camp, my life looks pretty similar. I’m very disciplined outside of fight camp and even more disciplined inside of fight camp.
“There’s times where I go out and hang out with the boys, crack a couple of Happy Dads and do my thing there, but for the most part, I’m in the grind.”
So, I train, I recover. I train, I recover. I’ve been doing that for the last 10 years. There’s times where I go out and hang out with the boys, crack a couple of Happy Dads and do my thing there, but for the most part, I’m in the grind. I’m living it, and I’m just getting started.
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Naturally, winning a bantamweight title is a major goal. How do you work toward that, especially when dealing the soreness and injuries associated with MMA?
When I first got into the UFC, I wasn’t really too concerned, like, “Alright, I have to get the belt, I have to get the belt.” I was just accepting the guys they were offering me, they weren’t offering me top 15 guys. I didn’t really care, I was trying to get highlight reel knockouts and make an argument on why I needed to be paid more, and I did just that.
“Cold plunge is a love-hate relationship. I hate getting in that thing, but I do it every day, every night I get in that thing.”
I would knock people out, knock people out, and now we’re here with a massive contract on a massive card. Because of me, it’s massive. But yeah, injuries suck. Injuries suck in every single sport — football, basketball, soccer … any sport there’s injuries.
Fighting is very difficult. A lot of injuries happen, I would say, from overtraining, so, I try to mitigate that. Trying not to overtrain. Trying to be smart, try to eat healthy, keep the inflammation out of my body. Recover, use the cold plunge, do stuff like that and just be smart with my training.
How do you go about dealing with pain management, especially when preparing for a big fight?
There’s so many injuries you get throughout your career, you’re like, “Oh, this is never going to go away.” You just deal with it and then you look back and you’re like, “Oh, shit. That’s gone.” But then, you have something else, so it’s just, you’re constantly going to be sore if you’re an athlete. You don’t always have to be injured, there’s definitely ways around it. But yeah, as far as being sore, it’s nonstop.
