The UFC has seen some iconic walkouts over the years, featuring the likes of Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya. The walk from backstage to the cage, when done right, can separate the stars from the superstars. And as we head into yet another UFC PPV this weekend, with UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2, let us take a closer look at the superstar of the card and his walkout.
Sean O’Malley is all set to face Marlon Vera in a high-stakes rematch in UFC 299 for the bantamweight belt. O’Malley’s walkout song for his UFC 292 title bout was almost proverbial, considering his performance and title win. Will we see a repeat of the same this Saturday? Will he walk out to the same tune he walked out to the last time?
Sean O’Malley gives his flowers to Superstar-Lupe Fiaco
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For his UFC 292 bout against Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley chose ‘Superstar’ by Lupe Fiasco as his walkout song. Although, this was not the first time he used this track, and it is not the only walkout song he has used in his career. However, ‘Superstar’ from the album ‘The Cool’ saw a boost in popularity after O’Malley’s rise to superstardom that night.
Interestingly, ‘Suga’s choice of song garnered so much admiration from Lupe Fiasco himself, and he took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank O’Malley for using his song. He provided so much exposure to the 16-year-old song and even managed to get a club to play that song. It also saw a rise in use in Instagram reels and TikTok following UFC 292.
‘But that’s not the only song O’Malley has used. ‘Goat Talk (Sugar Sean)’ and ‘The Sugar Show’ by J. Rob the Chief, ‘Gooba’ and ‘Mapi’ by 6IX9INE are some of the other famous songs the 29-year-old has sported in the UFC.
As iconic as O’Malley’s walkouts are beginning to become, there was something peculiar about his UFC 292 entrance. There seemed to be a bit of nervousness in O’Malley when he was walking out for his match against Sterling, as per Michael Bisping.
Michael Bisping’s assessment of O’Malley
Sean O’Malley was phenomenal when he fought against Aljamain Sterling. ‘Suga’ promised that he would claim the belt and he did. However, as per Michael Bisping ‘Suga’ seemed a bit nervous when he was walking out of the gate. “I thought, when he walked out again, he looked very nervous. I thought, I thought, man, it’s not looking good. It reminded me of Derek Lewis when he walked out, uh, in Houston against Cyril Gane,” said Michael Bisping on his YouTube podcast.
He further added, “But then, as soon as he stepped onto the Octagon apron, there was a change in his energy, and he embraced the crowd, you know? And I thought, oh, here we go, he’s back. He’s just taking it all in; he’s in the moment, whatever it is that he’s done. I mean, what a guy, what a performance.”
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O’Malley has only one defeat in his career and that too against Marlo Vera. Will he even the score this weekend? Or will there be a new champion? And what song will ‘Suga’ use this time for his walkout?
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