Former UFC champion Sean O’Malley was in The Land of the Rising Sun on Tuesday to take part in a meet-and-greet ahead of RIZIN’s annual New Year’s Eve event inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena.
Most fans were happy to get an autograph from O’Malley. Maybe even a photo. But one fan had a rather odd request. During the event, an individual asked ‘Sugar’ to kick him in the rear end — a request that O’Malley was happy to oblige.
In the click, which you can see below, O’Malley unleashes a stiff kick that sends the man falling to his knees.
https://x.com/HappyPunch/status/1873521621878853910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1873521621878853910%7Ctwgr%5E09a0a498758f0f56003a3a22ec0afa944e3bcf9e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mmafighting.com%2F2024%2F12%2F30%2F24332049%2Fwatch-sean-omalley-hilariously-kick-fan-in-the-butt-in-japan
In recent years, there’s been a growing trend of fight fans asking MMA athletes to unleash their weapons on them. In most cases, it’s an ill-advised punch to the stomach or an unrelenting leg kick. This may very well be the first time someone has asked a world-champion fighter to kick them in the ass.
If not, please let us know in the comments.
Sean O’Malley Attempting to ‘Level Up’ Ahead of UFC Return
Sean O’Malley kickstarted his 2024 sitting atop the bantamweight throne after defeating ex-champion Aljamain Sterling a few months prior. Unfortunately, he won’t end the year in the same position.
In September, ‘Sugar’ surrendered his 135-pound title to Merab Dvalishvili after ‘The Machine’ delivered a lights-out performance against O’Malley in the UFC 306 headliner. Not long after, O’Malley underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum — an injury he sustained weeks before his fight with Dvalishvili.
No official announcement has been made regarding his return, but O’Malley previously indicated that he would need nine to 10 months to recover, putting him back inside the Octagon by June or July, assuming everything goes according to plan.
However, O’Malley could be looking to make an even quicker comeback after revealing that he was taking some time off from social media to “level up” as an athlete.
“I feel like I need to level up – especially to beat Umar, to beat Merab, to beat whoever’s next,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugarShow podcast. “To beat these top guys in the world, you’ve got to just be doing everything right, and I feel like I am. I’m doing my rehab, I’m doing my physical therapy, I’m doing everything right. This is another, just a little bit more of a step up.”
