Sean O'Malley

O'Malley patiently picked Zahabi apart through a first round in which the Canadian circled and threw leg kicks. Late in Round 2 he dropped Zahabi with a straight left, then floored him again with a right as he rose, prompting referee Jason Herzog's stoppage. The walk-off finish ended Zahabi's seven-fight win streak.

Key moments

• Round 1: Zahabi circled away behind leg kicks while O'Malley used range and counters.
• Late in Round 2 a thudding straight left dropped Zahabi.
• Seconds later O'Malley cracked him with a clean right to drop him again, forcing the stoppage at 4:02.
• The walk-off knockout snapped Zahabi's seven-fight UFC win streak.

Returning after seven months out, O'Malley edged Song Yadong on the scorecards (29-28 across the board). He took the first, lost the middle of the fight to Song's low kicks and pressure, then closed strong in the third with sharp jabs, a clean right hand and a well-timed knee to get back in the win column.

Key moments

• First fight since the second Dvalishvili loss; first win in over a year
• Song built a lead with leg kicks through the second round
• O'Malley bloodied Song's nose and surged late in the third to bank the round
• Scores were 29-28, 29-28, 29-28; O'Malley called out champion Petr Yan afterward

In the rematch for the bantamweight title, Dvalishvili dominated with wrestling and volume before finishing late in the third round. Per UFCStats he outlanded O'Malley 135-34 in total strikes and landed five takedowns, then locked up a choke (variously reported as a north-south / D'Arce / ninja choke) for the tap at 4:42 of round three.

Key moments

• Dvalishvili's takedown pressure neutralized O'Malley's striking
• Outlanded 135-34 in total strikes per UFCStats
• Submission finish at 4:42 of round three to retain the belt
• O'Malley's second straight loss to Dvalishvili

O'Malley lost the UFC bantamweight title in his second defense, outworked over five rounds by Dvalishvili's relentless wrestling and pace at the Sphere in Las Vegas. O'Malley later revealed he had fought with a torn labrum. All three judges scored it for Dvalishvili.

Key moments

• Dvalishvili's volume and takedowns controlled the fight
• O'Malley's first loss as champion; he relinquished the title
• O'Malley disclosed a pre-fight torn labrum
• Unanimous decision sets up the 2025 rematch

O'Malley made his first title defense and avenged the only loss of his career, dominating Marlon Vera over five rounds (50-45, 50-45, 50-44). He landed 230 significant strikes — among the most ever in a UFC title fight — behind crisp combinations and footwork, hurting Vera with a knee in the second.

Key moments

• Avenged his lone career loss to Vera (a 2020 TKO via leg kicks)
• Landed 230 significant strikes to Vera's 89
• Right knee up the middle hurt and cut Vera in round two
• First successful defense of the bantamweight title

O'Malley won the UFC bantamweight title by stopping long-reigning champion Aljamain Sterling early in the second round. A counter right hand dropped Sterling and O'Malley followed up for the finish at 0:51 of round two in Boston.

Key moments

• Captured the UFC Bantamweight Championship
• Ended Sterling's reign with a clean counter right hand
• TKO finish 51 seconds into round two
• Validated O'Malley as a legitimate divisional force

O'Malley edged former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in a razor-thin split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Abu Dhabi. Yan controlled much of the first two rounds with calf kicks, body work, and a takedown, but O'Malley rallied in the third — landing a flying knee that cut Yan and finishing the round with 40 significant strikes to Yan's 15 — to swing the fight his way and earn a title shot.

Key moments

• Yan controlled the first two rounds with calf kicks, body shots, and a takedown slam.
• O'Malley was rocked by a left-hand haymaker from Yan in the second round.
• A flying knee in round three cut Yan and shifted momentum decisively.
• The split decision win over a former champion earned O'Malley his UFC title shot.

An accidental eye poke from O'Malley's outstretched left hand in the second round left Pedro Munhoz unable to continue at 3:09, and the bout was ruled a no contest. Munhoz was later diagnosed with a right corneal abrasion and taken to hospital. The fight had been uneventful through the first eight minutes, with Munhoz circling on the outside due to his 5-inch height and reach disadvantages.

Key moments

• O'Malley's outstretched hand caught Munhoz in the right eye in round two.
• Munhoz reported seeing black and could not continue; the bout was stopped at 3:09 of round two.
• Munhoz was diagnosed with a corneal abrasion and transported to hospital.
• Ruled a no contest — O'Malley's record carries one NC alongside two losses.

O'Malley opened the PPV card with a clinical first-round stoppage of Raulian Paiva, rocking him with a right hand, swarming him against the fence, dropping him with another right, then finishing him with a left after Paiva regained his feet. The TKO came at 4:42 of round one despite O'Malley reportedly dealing with a rib injury that had prevented sparring and grappling in the weeks prior.

Key moments

• O'Malley revealed after the fight he had fought through a rib injury that kept him from sparring for three weeks.
• Rocked Paiva with a right hand and swarmed him against the fence.
• A second right hand dropped Paiva; a follow-up left finished the fight at 4:42 of round one.
• Paiva had leaned on leg kicks hoping to exploit O'Malley's history with leg injuries.

In one of the most entertaining bantamweight bouts of 2021, O'Malley battered a rock-chinned Kris Moutinho for three rounds, landing enormous volumes of head strikes, body shots, and leg kicks. Moutinho — a late replacement who had under two weeks to prepare — absorbed tremendous punishment without going down and kept pressing forward, but referee Herb Dean waved the fight off with 27 seconds left in the final round. Both fighters earned Fight of the Night bonuses.

Key moments

• Moutinho stepped in on less than two weeks' notice to replace the injured Louis Smolka.
• O'Malley landed heavy volume across all three rounds but Moutinho's durability kept him in the fight.
• The late-third-round TKO by Herb Dean drew boos from the T-Mobile Arena crowd and debate among pundits.
• Both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night bonuses worth $75,000 each.

O'Malley put on a two-round striking clinic before finishing Thomas Almeida with punches late in the third at the UFC Apex. He hurt Almeida with a head kick and a left hand in round one — the referee allowed it to continue — then controlled the following rounds before leaping in with a finishing right hand at 3:52 of round three.

Key moments

• Almeida ate a violent head kick and a left hand late in round one but survived the round.
• O'Malley controlled the fight with range and combinations through rounds two and three.
• A leaping right hand finished Almeida at 3:52 of round three.
• The bounce-back win was O'Malley's first since his 2020 TKO loss to Marlon Vera.

O'Malley suffered his first professional loss when an apparent ankle injury collapsed his left leg mid-round, leaving him unable to defend himself on the ground. Vera capitalized immediately, landing a left hand and a series of elbows as O'Malley went down, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at 4:40 of round one. O'Malley was helped out of the cage and taken away on a stretcher.

Key moments

• O'Malley's ankle gave way as he pivoted in round one — the first pro loss of his career.
• Vera pounced instantly with a left hand and ground elbows to force the stoppage at 4:40.
• O'Malley left on a stretcher; the loss ended an undefeated run going back to his 2015 debut.
• The defeat set up one of the most thorough title-fight reversals in divisional history when they met again in 2024.

O'Malley delivered one of the most impressive walk-off knockouts of 2020, dropping veteran Eddie Wineland with a single overhand right — feinting with an uppercut to set it up — then walking away as Wineland lay snoring on the canvas at 1:54 of round one. It was a signature moment that accelerated his rise up the bantamweight rankings.

Key moments

• O'Malley feinted with an uppercut before uncorking the overhand right that put Wineland to sleep.
• Wineland was literally snoring on the canvas when O'Malley walked away without a follow-up — one of the cleanest walk-off KOs in recent UFC history.
• The finish came at 1:54 of round one.
• The dominant performance continued O'Malley's momentum ahead of his co-main event slot against Vera two months later.

O'Malley returned from a two-year hiatus — caused by a USADA violation stemming from a contaminated supplement — with a statement performance, finishing José Alberto Quiñónez in under two minutes. He dropped Quiñónez with a body kick within the first ten seconds, then landed an uppercut followed by a crushing head kick and ground-and-pound to force the stoppage at 2:02 of round one, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.

Key moments

• First fight back after a two-year layoff following a USADA contaminated-supplement suspension.
• Dropped Quiñónez with a front kick to the body within the opening ten seconds.
• A head kick followed by ground-and-pound finished the fight at 2:02 of round one.
• Earned Performance of the Night bonus; O'Malley described the head kick as 'like hitting him with a baseball bat.'

O'Malley passed a gritty test in his second UFC fight, winning a unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) over Andre Soukhamthath despite suffering a foot injury in the opening round that left him unable to stand by the end of the fight. He defended effectively off his back in the later rounds as Soukhamthath tried to exploit the injury with wrestling, but O'Malley's early striking output proved decisive on the cards.

Key moments

• O'Malley's foot went numb after a kick in round one, leaving him unable to bear weight for much of the fight.
• Soukhamthath chose wrestling to attack the injured leg but O'Malley defended off his back.
• Judges scored it 29-27, 29-27, 29-28 for O'Malley — his striking in the early rounds made the difference.
• The gutsy performance kept his unbeaten record intact at 10-0 heading into a near two-year layoff.

O'Malley made his official UFC debut in the co-main event of TUF 26 Finale in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Terrion Ware. He showcased his volume striking game — landing 141 significant strikes at 55% accuracy versus Ware's 88 — and added three takedowns in the third round for good measure.

Key moments

• Official UFC debut, in the co-main event at Park Theater in Las Vegas on FS1.
• Outworked Ware 141-88 in significant strikes at 55% accuracy versus Ware's 30%.
• Added three takedowns in the third round to close out the fight convincingly.
• All three judges scored it 29-28 for O'Malley; the win set up the UFC 222 booking against Soukhamthath.

O'Malley's audition for the UFC on Dana White's Contender Series was a first-round knockout of Alfred Khashakyan that left Dana White and the room stunned. He stopped Khashakyan with punches at 4:14 of round one and was awarded a UFC contract on the spot — a moment widely credited as the start of his run as one of the sport's most marketable prospects.

Key moments

• Competed on Episode 2 of Season 1 of Dana White's Contender Series.
• Knocked Khashakyan out with punches at 4:14 of round one.
• Dana White handed him a UFC contract immediately after the fight.
• The finish went viral and established O'Malley as one of the most anticipated UFC prospects of the era.

In the most eye-catching finish of his pre-UFC run, O'Malley knocked out David Nuzzo with a picture-perfect spinning wheel kick at LFA 11 in Phoenix, stopping him at 2:15 of round one. Nuzzo was a notable opponent with a 5-2 record, and the highlight-reel finish helped build the viral buzz that landed O'Malley a Contender Series slot a few months later.

Key moments

• Fought at Comerica Theater in Phoenix on the televised portion of the LFA 11 card.
• Forced Nuzzo back against the cage before uncorking a clean spinning wheel kick that put him out cold.
• Nuzzo (5-2 at the time) was a credible opponent; the finish helped O'Malley get noticed nationally.
• The knockout went viral and contributed directly to his Contender Series booking.

O'Malley scored a first-round KO over Irvin Veloz at Extreme Beatdown 20 in North Dakota, stopping him with punches at 2:34 of round one. The win continued his unbeaten run through the regional circuit in the months leading up to his LFA and Contender Series appearances.

Key moments

• Fought at 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, North Dakota.
• KO finish with punches at 2:34 of round one.
• Part of a string of 2017 finishes — Veloz in March, Nuzzo in May, Khashakyan in July — that propelled him into the UFC.

O'Malley needed two rounds to stop Tycen Lynn at Intense CF 26 in Great Falls, Montana, landing a head kick KO at 2:57 of the second. Lynn was a step up in opposition at the regional level — he would finish his career 7-5 — and the finish added another highlight to O'Malley's growing reel.

Key moments

• Fought at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana.
• Lynn was a quality regional opponent who finished his career 7-5.
• Head kick KO finish at 2:57 of round two — the only fight of O'Malley's that went past round one in this regional run.
• Last fight before the 2017 breakout string that brought him to the UFC.

O'Malley won his first professional decision, going three rounds with Mark Coates at Intense CF 23 on the Arizona regional circuit. The unanimous decision extended his unbeaten record in his debut year of professional competition.

Key moments

• Third professional fight, and the only one in 2015 to go the distance.
• Fought on the Intense Championship Fighting regional circuit in Arizona.
• Unanimous decision win kept his unbeaten record intact at 3-0.

O'Malley showed early grappling capability with a first-round rear-naked choke submission of Omar Avelar at Intense CF 20, finishing at 2:55 of round one. The submission — one of only two in his professional career — rounded out his second win in his debut year on the Arizona regional scene.

Key moments

• Rear-naked choke finish at 2:55 of round one — one of just two submission wins in his professional career.
• Second fight as a professional, fought at Intense Championship Fighting in Arizona.
• Showed grappling alongside the striking ability that would define his later career.

O'Malley collected his first professional finish, stopping Shane Sargent by punch KO at 2:03 of round one at Intense CF 19 on the Arizona regional circuit. Coming just four months after his professional debut, the quick KO reinforced his reputation as a puncher from his earliest fights.

Key moments

• First professional knockout, at 2:03 of round one.
• Fought at Intense Championship Fighting in Arizona.
• Second fight as a professional — won his first two by finish (debut TKO, this KO) before going to decision in his third.

O'Malley made his professional MMA debut at Intense CF 17 on the Arizona regional circuit, stopping Josh Reyes by TKO (punches) at 1:33 of round one. The quick finish announced his arrival as a finishing threat from the very start of his career.

Key moments

• Professional MMA debut, at Intense CF 17 in Arizona.
• TKO finish in 1:33 of round one — won his first professional fight by first-round stoppage.
• Launched a professional career that would remain unbeaten for five-plus years and reach a UFC title.