Can an internet troll become a UFC champion? 'Suga' Sean O'Malley wants to find out

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Sean O'Malley was feeling good.

It was 5 p.m. connected a Saturday successful September, astir 5 weeks into his campy for this weekend's bantamweight combat against Petr Yan astatine UFC 280 successful Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. O'Malley had looked large successful sparring that greeting and was sitting down to a well-deserved steak with his caput coach, Tim Welch. Moments before, helium had lit up a joint, arsenic he's known to do.

Smiling, O'Malley opened Twitter connected his telephone and wrote, "I'll beryllium amazed if I get deed once."

O'Malley is an admitted net troll. And successful that moment, helium knew precisely what helium was doing. To suggest Yan, a erstwhile UFC champion and 1 of the astir skilled strikers successful the sport, would neglect to adjacent touch him successful a 15-minute combat -- O'Malley knew everyone would find the conception absurd.

"This volition beryllium funny," O'Malley said arsenic the station went live.

Sure enough, hundreds of responses flooded in. Many said thing to the effect of O'Malley wouldn't past a round. One effect predicted he'd permission connected a stretcher.

For O'Malley, oregon "Suga" arsenic he's known, this was the desired effect -- and it's wherefore he's already 1 of the apical stars successful MMA, contempt the information that helium has yet to adjacent ace the apical 10 of his division. In a satellite where, increasingly, engagement is king, O'Malley is thriving. He has 2.4 cardinal followers connected Instagram, much than each but 2 of the UFC's existent champions. And helium does good converting that pursuing into profit.

But the casual engagement wasn't the lone happening connected O'Malley's caput erstwhile helium wrote that post. And this is wherever it gets interesting. This is what makes the combat betwixt O'Malley (16-1) and Yan (16-3) truthful intriguing.

O'Malley really believes it. He's prepared for the astir hard combat of his career, but helium besides believes he's susceptible of completely outclassing Yan successful Abu Dhabi. To some, helium is simply a can-crushing, overhyped instauration of societal media and the UFC and this is the combat that volition beryllium it. But to O'Malley, he's 1 of the champion fighters successful the satellite and this is the combat that volition beryllium that.

"It's each going to alteration aft this fight. I'm 100% affirmative of that," O'Malley told ESPN. "People volition spot this and say, 'Damn, helium is elite.' So, yeah, the tweet was benignant of a joke. But besides ... let's see."

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THREE DAYS AFTER O'Malley's past combat -- an unfortunate no-contest against Pedro Munhoz successful July that ended successful an oculus poke -- UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby went to Dana White with a proposal: O'Malley vs. Yan.

Yan, 29, embodies each cliché 1 could usage successful describing a phenomenal mixed martial artist. "A terminator," Welch calls him. Yan has knocked retired the likes of Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber. He took 4 of 5 title rounds against a precise tricky Cory Sandhagen. Some felt helium bushed Aljamain Sterling successful his astir caller combat successful April and should inactive beryllium the UFC's 135-pound champion.

This is the antheral Shelby believed O'Malley should combat next.

"I said [to Shelby], 'Are you retired of your mind? You don't marque that combat close now,'" White said. "He told maine wherefore you marque it. He told maine O'Malley is ready, and he's astir to beryllium 28. He's successful his implicit prime. He hits similar a truck. [Shelby] ended up selling maine connected it."

One tin recognize White's archetypal absorption adjacent if it didn't instrumentality agelong for him to travel astir connected the matchup. It's the aforesaid 1 galore had.

O'Malley has been successful the UFC for 5 years, but it inactive feels arsenic if he's successful an aboriginal signifier of his career. A improvement phase, if you will. A gathering phase. He's been nary little than a 3-to-1 betting favourite successful his past 7 appearances. Six of the 9 opponents helium has faced successful the UFC are nary longer with the promotion. In different words, connected paper, Yan is simply a massive measurement up.

Even Welch, who has coached and trained with O'Malley since helium was a teenager, hesitated regarding this one. He believes O'Malley is acceptable and this matchup was ever going to hap astatine immoderate point, but helium besides understands risk. There is an elevated information origin to this fight, and with everything going truthful good for O'Malley, is this the close clip to instrumentality it?

"Right erstwhile it was archetypal announced, I was like, 'F---,'" Welch said. "I was a small frightened astir it, due to the fact that I cognize what getting bushed up tin bash to a fighter's mentality. Suga's assurance is truly high, and that's a large portion of everything helium has going on. With a striker arsenic unsafe arsenic Petr, you're moving the hazard of getting knocked out, and it takes a peculiar idiosyncratic to travel backmost from getting knocked out.

"I bash deliberation Sean is that peculiar idiosyncratic who would travel backmost from it, but of course, you privation to debar it -- particularly wherever helium is successful his vocation close now."

The 1 who didn't hesitate? O'Malley. He was lasting successful the sprawling backyard of his Arizona location erstwhile Shelby called him astir the fight. He said he'd request to speech it implicit with his team, but helium liked it. Yan is really 1 of O'Malley's favourite fighters to watch, and the 2 had gone backmost and distant connected societal media before. The thought of warring Yan surely didn't scare him.

"There is cipher retired determination little than 5-foot-6 who scares me," said a laughing O'Malley, who is 5-11, compared with Yan, who is really 5-7. "Petr could spell retired determination and whup my ass and I inactive wouldn't beryllium frightened of him. He should beryllium frightened of me."

What makes O'Malley truthful confident, successful a combat wherever he is present successful the relation of a important underdog?

His reply to that astir sounds similar different troll occupation due to the fact that it involves 2 things helium is perpetually accused of lacking: his quality to woody with adversity and his dedication.

Because the UFC has, arguably, booked him a preferential docket of contention frankincense far, immoderate judge helium volition crumple erstwhile faced with existent adversity. And due to the fact that his precise fashionable Instagram relationship is filled with videos of him partying with fashionable YouTubers the Nelk Boys and smoking marijuana, immoderate judge he's not wholly dedicated to his craft.

Here's what O'Malley doesn't beforehand rather arsenic heavy connected societal media: He acold plunges and meditates each evening for carnal betterment and intelligence growth. He regularly runs humor investigation with physicians, to hone his fare and grooming docket for highest performance. He meticulously monitors his slumber patterns and has done truthful for the past 5 years.

And successful summation to each of those subtle details, which O'Malley is convinced marque the biggest quality erstwhile you're astatine the highest level of the sport, helium has besides done the 1 perfectly indispensable happening to beryllium the best: He has mislaid implicit and implicit and implicit again successful the gym.

"A batch of bully guys get into the sport, but it's knowing that you person to instrumentality a decennary of your life, bid doubly a time and continually find radical who are going to whup your ass," Welch said. "He did that. He showed up, doubly a day, to get bushed up. I was a small disquieted astir that erstwhile the wealth started coming, but he's connected a antithetic level now. He wants to beryllium a megastar, and helium knows the level of subject that's going to take."

Any misconceptions immoderate mightiness person astir the "easy" way O'Malley has taken to this point, oregon astir immoderate deficiency of dedication helium mightiness have, don't fuss him astatine all. Worrying astir the opinions of others would beryllium a weakness, successful O'Malley's opinion. However, helium is aware they are retired there. And you cognize what? It's good. He likes it. Because aft this fight, that uncertainty volition beryllium harder to travel by.

"People saying, 'I don't deliberation he's ready, I don't deliberation he's ready,'" O'Malley said. "I perceive to that s--- erstwhile I'm connected the treadmill. This is the archetypal combat wherever I'm not expected to sound the dude out. It's cool. It's different."

IT'S ANOTHER SATURDAY successful September, and O'Malley is astatine the gym for his play spar. The combat is present little than 1 period away. The MMA Lab installation successful Glendale, Arizona, is afloat of nonrecreational fighters lightly sparring connected the mats, portion O'Malley stretches and mentally prepares for 3 hard rounds successful the cage.

When helium starts to spell with chap UFC bantamweight Mario Bautista, a tiny crowd, including different fighters, forms. These fighters are present to work, but galore cannot assistance but instrumentality an involvement successful what's happening wrong the cage. That is the O'Malley effect, and it's been existent from the infinitesimal helium knocked retired his hostile connected Dana White's Contender Series 5 years agone to gain a UFC declaration (and a viral infinitesimal from Snoop Dogg). He makes you watch.

"People ever ticker Suga spar due to the fact that helium does huffy s---," says Jack Eglin, 1 of O'Malley's grooming partners who is cageside. "And adjacent erstwhile it's a chess lucifer of a spar, it's amusive due to the fact that you're seeing high-level work. You ticker him from the broadside and think, 'Oh, I'll conscionable bash this oregon that to him,' and past erstwhile you're successful beforehand of him, you go, 'Oh f---, this is different.'

"And erstwhile helium hits you, he's not conscionable hitting you hard. He's hitting your oculus socket and your jaw. He's not conscionable swinging astatine the broadside of your head. Suga is pinpoint."

Five years into O'Malley's UFC career, it's precise evident helium tin marque radical watch. If helium tin bushed Yan astatine UFC 280, it volition beryllium precise evident helium could beryllium a champion. In MMA, if you tin harvester those 2 feats, which are some extremely hard to accomplish, well, you person a superstar. And that's what O'Malley is aiming to be.

O'Malley finishes up his rounds for the time and walks extracurricular to his neon pink-and-green Lamborghini. He drives home, wherever his girlfriend, Danya, makes him a luncheon of chickenhearted bosom and vegetables. Their 2-year-old daughter, Elena, circles the kitchen, intermittently yelling "Dada" successful his direction. Between bites of fundamentally the aforesaid luncheon helium has eaten for weeks, O'Malley grants 1 of the hundreds of interviews he'll springiness earlier the fight.

What volition happen, Sean, if you truly do marque Yan look silly connected Oct. 22 successful Abu Dhabi?

"Like, successful the division?" O'Malley says.

Like, successful your life?

"Oh, God," helium responds. "I've been connected a clump of mini rocket ships aft each fight, but that would beryllium a f---ing rocket ship. It would marque maine doubly arsenic large of a prima arsenic I americium close now. I'm taking six months, touring, going connected each large podcast successful the country. I'm gonna beverage that, and past we get a rubric shot."

Staring consecutive ahead, mislaid successful his response, O'Malley pauses astatine this point. The adjacent happening helium says astir seems to beryllium aimed astatine himself alternatively than anyone else.

"Yeah, it'll beryllium big. And that's erstwhile I person to marque definite to perpetually punctual myself that I've got 10 much years to enactment disciplined. We tin bask it aft those 10 years, but that's what I've been penning astir successful my journal. Stay disciplined. When I'm 40, I'm gonna look back, and I really, truly anticipation I won't regret anything. I'm going to dial it successful for the adjacent 10 years, enactment accordant and unrecorded up to my potential. I cognize that I tin go the champion combatant successful the satellite and beryllium successful the greatest-of-all-time speech if I conscionable enactment dialed successful to what I'm doing."

Anyone listening to O'Malley successful that infinitesimal would person a hard clip telling him that he's incorrect oregon that helium doesn't instrumentality this athletics conscionable arsenic earnestly arsenic immoderate different combatant connected the planet.

But a fewer days later, he'll station a video connected Instagram of himself successful a pinkish wig, offering a bong rip to a grooming dummy. And anyone watching volition person a hard clip concluding "This dude is truly gonna bushed Petr Yan?"

Is Sean O'Malley a imaginable UFC champion oregon a really, truly bully net troll? Maybe he'll beryllium to beryllium both.