Sean O'Malley
Active 2017–present · rated in 2 editions · peak overall 88.0
Scouting report
Sean O'Malley was born in Helena, Montana in 1994 and fights out of Peoria, Arizona. He is 5 ft 11 in with a 72 inch reach and trains at The MMA Lab in Glendale under John Crouch, with Tim Welch as his coach. He earned a contract on Dana White's Contender Series with a first-round knockout of Alfred Khashakyan on July 18, 2017. He won the UFC bantamweight title with a TKO of Aljamain Sterling at 0:51 of round two at UFC 292 on August 19, 2023.
Peak ratings
By edition
Sean O'Malley: a long Montana striker who won the title in 51 seconds
O'Malley went 9-2 as an amateur in MMA, 4-0 in kickboxing and 2-0 in boxing. He knocked out David Nuzzo at LFA 11 in May 2017 and debuted in the UFC at the TUF 26 Finale in December 2017. He defended the title once, beating Marlon Vera on a decision at UFC 299 in March 2024, and lost it to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September 2024. Nine bonuses are the most in UFC bantamweight history.
O'Malley, attribute by attribute
Boxing. 94, his best. Sterling was stopped at 0:51 of round two at UFC 292, Eddie Wineland was knocked out in round one at UFC 250, and Jose Alberto Quinonez was stopped in round one at UFC 248.
Kickboxing. 93. Thomas Almeida was knocked out with a punch in round three at UFC 260 in March 2021.
Wrestling. 78. Merab Dvalishvili won a unanimous decision at UFC 306 and later submitted him.
BJJ. 80. Dvalishvili finished him with a north-south choke at 4:42 of round three at UFC 316 in June 2025.
Strength. 74. Marlon Vera stopped him with a TKO in round one at UFC 252 in August 2020.
Durability. 84. Petr Yan lost a split decision to him at UFC 280 in October 2022, a Fight of the Night.
Cardio. 88. He fought through a foot injury in the third round at UFC 222 and beat Andre Soukhamthath on a unanimous decision.
Fight IQ. 90. Pedro Munhoz's fight at UFC 276 in July 2022 ended in a no contest after an accidental eye poke in round two.
Boxing at 94 and six Performance of the Night awards
The bonuses came for Quinonez, Wineland, Almeida, Raulian Paiva, Sterling and Vera. Paiva was stopped in round one at UFC 269 in December 2021. After the Dvalishvili losses he came back with a unanimous decision over Song Yadong in January 2026 and a TKO of Aiemann Zahabi at 4:02 of round two in June 2026.
Strength at 74 and two losses to a wrestler
Vera's TKO in round one at UFC 252 in 2020 was the first loss, avenged on the scorecards in 2024. Dvalishvili beat him twice, once on a unanimous decision and once by submission. A hip surgery in October 2018 caused a layoff from a UFC 229 booking.
Keep exploring
Closest bantamweight profiles to Sean O'Malley, measured by how near their peak attribute ratings sit across all eight categories.
- Cory Sandhagenbest kickboxing 92 · weakest strength 74
- Marlon Moraesbest kickboxing 92 · weakest strength 77
- Song Yadongbest boxing 89 · weakest bjj 76
- Kyler Phillipsbest cardio 88 · weakest strength 74
- Bantamweight division guide: how the whole division rates and who to draft from it.
- Grappling vs striking in the draft: a guide that fits Sean O'Malley's strongest attribute, Boxing.
Draft Sean O'Malley into your build
Sean O'Malley enters the pool on any spin landing on bantamweight between 2023 and present. Spin, draft eight attributes, then simulate 25 fights.
Ratings shown are my own estimates, made with AI assistance and informed by how Sean O'Malley is regarded by the MMA community. They are unofficial and do not constitute an assessment of Sean O'Malley's real-world abilities. How the ratings are made. See the disclaimer below. Ratings and write-ups by Haaris A. Last reviewed 2026-09-30; spot an error? Tell us. Read our editorial standards.