‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley has been one of the most entertaining UFC fighters in recent years, with his quirky hairstyles, comedic personality and unmatched confidence as an MMA star.

He quickly rose through the rankings to become the UFC bantamweight champion in 2023, defeating Aljamain Sterling in typical O’Malley style to claim the belt.

Sean O’Malley’s next fight will be his first title defense at UFC 299, and finally a rematch against the only man to ever beat him, Chito Vera. A win would support the claims that O’Malley has made since that defeat, as he continues to refuse to acknowledge it as a loss, maintaining his stance that he remains undefeated.

‘Sugar’ Sean is one of the best strikers in the UFC, with elite level boxing and incredible speed that often makes him elusive and difficult to hit.

What is Sean O’Malley’s UFC record?

Sean O’Malley’s record is currently 17-1 heading into UFC 299. His single loss against Chito Vera is one surrounded by controversy, with O’Malley denying he lost at all due to an injury to his right leg.

Many argue that that injury was caused by one of Chito Vera’s damaging leg kicks, causing O’Malley’s leg to go numb and limiting his movement as a result. He was unable to plant, and fell to the mat on multiple occasions while trying to put weight on that right foot.

This time around, O’Malley has a chance to silence those critics. He’s wanted this for a long time, and the UFC 299 main event is one of the most anticipated bantamweight UFC fights in a very long time.

Sean O’Malley Career Highlights

There have been many Sean O’Malley knockouts on the 29-year-olds highlight reel so far, including the stunning KO against Eddie Wineland and the crushing knockout of Thomas Almeida, following the Chito Vera loss.

But there’s no denying that the single greatest moment in O’Malley’s career was the perfectly timed and well executed knockout of bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Sterling had successfully defended the title three times prior to facing 'Sugar' Sean.

At his very best, Sean O’Malley is perhaps the best striker in the UFC bantamweight division, with so much power generated into such quick hands. He’s unpredictable and dangerous with a great reach advantage, and so far, he has never lost a fight on his feet.

Today we’re looking at some of Sean O’Malleys best TKO’s, including his all-time knockouts and evaluating where his victory over Aljamain Sterling ranks among his appearances in the UFC.

This is the UFC fights power rankings for Sean O'Malley, from 10 all the way to 1.

Ranking the Top 10 Sean O’Malley fights in UFC history

10: Sean O’Malley vs Terrion Ware: The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale

A lot of MMA fans first found out about Sean O’Malley via his performance during ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Finale in 2017. His opponent, Terrion Ware, was the far more experienced fighter at the time, with a 17-6 record dating back to his debut in 2012.

O’Malley was the new kid on the block, with a little hype around him and his thrilling fighting style.

Going back and watching this fight, ‘Sugar’ Sean looks like a young, raw version of his current self. It’s tremendously impressive to look how much his technique and execution have improved in the UFC.

He beat Terrion Ware by unanimous decision, while displaying those elite combinations we’ve seen in his boxing, and the athleticism to try elaborate kicks and combos from time to time too.

This was the beginning of O’Malleys journey in the UFC, and to see him build upon this fight and become the bantamweight champion is impressive.

9: Sean O’Malley vs Alfred Khashakyan: Dana White’s Contender Series 2017

One of the very first introductions we got to Sean O’Malley as a fighter was his performance against Alfred Khashakyan during Dana White’s contender series in 2017.

A very young and unrefined O’Malley put a first round beating on his opponent, sporting his trademark afro at the time. At just 22 years old with a 6-0 record in his pro career, he made a name for himself at Dana White's Contender Series before securing a victory against Terrion Ware in the Ultimate Fighter's season 26 finale.

O’Malley traded blows with Khashakyan early in the first round, fighting his way out of a bottom position on the mat before getting back to his feet. He then started to show his versatility, landing a crushing right hand, followed by a head kick and a flying knee, none of which his opponent was able to sufficiently defend.

Badly wobbled, Khashakyan found himself backed up against the cage, and a very patient right hand from O’Malley folded him into the mat, ending the fight. Dana White loved it, and so did O'Malley's family in the room.

8: Sean O’Malley vs David Nuzzo: LFA 11 Main Car

This might be one of the greatest knockouts O’Malley will ever accomplish, but comes from his early days as a pro MMA fighter.

At LFA 11, a young O’Malley fought a 9-1 David Nuzzo, who was five years his senior and looking like a promising MMA fighter.

That said, ‘Sugar’ Sean proved to be far too fast for him, quickly displaying his high IQ and dangerous striking to put Nuzzo on the backfoot.

O’Malley landed a combination finishing with a hard overhand left that sent Nuzzo to the mat. He got back to his feet and quickly retreated, at which point O’Malley executed the perfect spinning head kick to knock his opponent clean off his feet and out of the fight. 

7: Sean O’Malley vs Jose Alberto Quinonez: UFC 248 Preliminary Card

Sean O’Malley’s victory over Jose Alberto Quinonez was dominant. O’Malley walked into the octagon, knocked out his opponent in the first round and walked out again without breaking a sweat.

Quinonez was 8-3 coming into the fight, but quickly found out he hadn’t faced an opponent like O’Malley before. He struggled to land a single blow, and quickly began to overcompensate by lunging into his punches and leaving himself exposed.

Quinonez launched himself so far towards O’Malley that he simply threw him to the ground, and as he stood up O’Malley kicked him in the head, rattling him off the cage before finishing him off on the ground. The fight barely lasted two minutes, and O’Malley extended his winning streak to 11-0.

6: Sean O’Malley vs Raulian Paiva: UFC 269 Main Card

Raulian Paiva was just another example of an opponent who couldn’t hit Sean O’Malley. His combination of length and agility makes him so difficult to get close to, and many have been caught out stepping into his radius and getting knocked out.

Paiva was trying to navigate his way around O’Malley in the first round of their matchup at UFC 269, but got caught up in the final minute.

O’Malley had landed several of those signature long-armed jabs, and with barely 30 seconds left in the round, Paiva was caught lacking. ‘Sugar’ Sean dealt a vicious right hand with lightning speed, sending Paiva to one knee. He quickly got to his feet, but he’d been badly damaged, and smelling a first round knockout, O’Malley went after him.

The bantamweight star landed several more nasty punches as Paiva tried to hang on, but the referee called it off with 19 seconds left before the end of the first round.

If you’re not careful, a ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley fight can go from zero to 100 in a hurry, and the win over Raulian Paiva was a fine example of that.

5: Sean O’Malley vs Kris Moutinho: UFC 264 Main Card

Sean O’Malley was a star by the time he fought on the main card of the McGregor vs Poirier event at UFC 264. His opponent Kris Moutinho was a tough fighter, and it took three rounds of landing significant blows to finally finish him off.

O’Malley might have been the strong favorite, but it remains one of his best striking performances in the UFC to date. He landed 230 strikes to Moutinho’s 70, and proved to be overwhelmingly dangerous for the challenger.

‘Sugar’ was landing throughout, with head kicks and damaging punches flowing freely, but Moutinho never backed down. He was bloodied up and losing the fight by some margin by the time it reached the third and final round, but he kept walking O’Malley down regardless.

The bantamweight star was beating him up badly in that third round. Moutinho looked badly beaten, and it turned into a brawl with just a minute remaining. With 30 seconds remaining, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, something Moutinho wasn’t happy about. However, at that point he was a punching bag for O’Malley, putting on a clinic at one of the biggest MMA events in history to that point.

4: Sean O’Malley vs Eddie Wineland: UFC 250 Main Card

Not many can hit as hard and as fast as Sean O’Malley can. He’s exceptionally hard to hit, with tremendous quickness to avoid incoming damage, and an equally impressive display of speed while dealing catastrophic shots to his opponents.

O’Malley froze him with a feint from the left before knocking him out cold with a single right hand punch. It’s one of the most crushing punches you’ll ever see in the bantamweight division, stopping the fight instantly as Wineland’s lights went out.

3: Sean O’Malley vs Petr Yan: UFC 280 Main Card

Sean O’Malley had fought his way through the bantamweight division, climbing the UFC rankings and boasting a 15-1 record at the time of the Petr Yan fight.

UFC 280 presented what would easily be his toughest fight yet against one of the most impressive contenders in the division, Russian fighter Petr Yan.

Yan had beaten the likes of Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber and Cory Sandhagen, holding the division title for a brief period of time. That said, he was coming off a loss to Aljamain Sterling while trying to regain his belt at UFC 273.

For Sean O’Malley, this was the fight he demanded, a prime opportunity to prove himself as a genuine contender in the division. So far, people had struggled to even hit him, let alone beat him, but Petr Yan was a significant step up in the level of competition.

Going into the third and final round, many had the fight tied. O’Malley won the first, and Yan claimed the second with a strong takedown and some great work on the mat. It was all to fight for in the third, and while controversial, his hand was raised, and the win marked one of Sean O’Malley’s best fights to date.

The Yan fight proved that O’Malley could sustain the damage of a top five fighter, while remaining extremely calm under intense pressure and delivering accurate blows when the opportunity presented itself.

He snuffed a Yan takedown midway through the round, quickly getting back to his feet, and late in the round the two were swinging for the fences in an attempt to land a knockout blow.

Yan was bleeding badly from his right eye late in the third, but both knew that landing a knock down in the final minute would have made the difference. Yan opted for another take down attempt, but it wasn’t enough, and O’Malley got the win.

The split decision victory led to O’Malley’s title fight against Aljamain Sterling, which he won comfortably, marking his very first title in the UFC.

2: Sean O’Malley vs Thomas Almeida: UFC 260 Main Card

Sean O’Malley took his first loss in a controversial fight with Chito Vera, but would bounce back in impressive fashion at UFC 260.

His opponent, Thomas Almeida, was the more experienced fighter with 26 professional bouts under his belt, and a 22-4 record to ‘Sugar’ Sean’s 12-1.

The fight might be the most clinical display of striking we’ve seen from Sean O’Malley to date, landing 91 strikes to Almeida’s 25. Once again, the bantamweight proved almost impossible to hit, slipping out of grapple attempts and stepping away from incoming punches.

Late in the third round, aware that he was losing the fight, Almeida tried to go on the front foot, but stepped right into a dangerous left from O’Malley. He was rocked by the punch, and stumbled to the mat before rolling away into the center of the octagon.

Here, one of the most memorable Sean O’Malley moments was born, walking towards the downed Almeida, who lay on his back dazed but not yet entirely out of the fight.

O’Malley then dealt an unbelievable right hand right into Almeida’s chin, knocking him out cold. This was one of the finest examples of how dangerous he can be with his feints, and his boxing.

1: Sean O’Malley vs Aljamain Sterling: UFC 292 Main Event

Sean O’Malley had waited long enough for his first title shot in the UFC bantamweight division, and finally earned it after beating Petr Yan by split decision to go 15-1 in his MMA career.

The defending champion was Aljamain Sterling, who had successfully defended his title three times since winning it in bizarre circumstances against Yan.

Aljamain Sterling learned the hard way that night that making a mistake against Sean O’Malley can result in the lights going out. With everything on the line, O’Malley landed one of the best shots he’s ever landed, showing his elite boxing skills while countering Sterling’s advance.

The defending champion threw himself into a hard left, which O’Malley stepped back from and then delivered his own powerful right, which sent Aljamain Sterling face first to the ground.

Sterling tried desperately to recover, but O’Malley never let him get back up, dropping hammerfists and countless blows to the face to claim the bantamweight title.

He’s a fighter who certainly talks the talk, but so far in his career, he’s walked the walk too, and earned that belt on the very first attempt.

Parameters for Rankings

These all time Sean O’Malley fights have been ranked based on his performances in the Octagon during each fight and the way in which each fight was finished. Factors such as the title fight against Aljamain Sterling and the rebound win over Thomas Almeida have been factored in.

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