A video has recently surfaced showing UFC bantamweight prospect Sean “Sugar” O’Malley competing in a grappling match at Grappling Industries Phoenix. The footage captures O’Malley going up against brown belt Robert Degle (now a black belt) in the -155lbs Advanced division.
Degle, a black belt under Brandon Bennett of the Renzo Gracie Academy, is one of the most promising up-and-coming talents in the BJJ world. Despite his UFC stardom, O’Malley proved no match for Degle’s grappling prowess.
In the video, Degle swiftly pulls guard and gets underneath O’Malley’s base within 30 seconds. From there, he secures O’Malley in a 50/50 position and wastes no time locking in a heel hook submission for the victory – all in under a minute.
While the loss may be humbling for O’Malley, there is no shame in tapping to a grappling phenom like Degle. O’Malley himself is a student of ADCC medalist and former UFC star Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes in Arizona and is known to be an avid fan of the competition class at his academy.
This wasn’t O’Malley’s only foray into the BJJ scene. In another video, he can be seen competing against an athlete with Down syndrome to help raise funds for a local gym that offers free classes for special needs children.
“One of our buddy’s, Allan (Di Lucia), is his coach and owns the (Unlimited BJJ) gym and he has free classes for special needs kids,” O’Malley explained. “So he messaged me on Instagram and asked me if I wanted to compete against him and I was jacked. He said it would make his day, and I told him it would make mine, so doing stuff like that is just priceless, that’s where pure happiness is.”
Despite his striking prowess in the UFC octagon, O’Malley has expressed his deep passion for grappling arts like BJJ and wrestling.
“I enjoy grappling dude, it’s my favorite sport hands down, 100 percent if I quit fighting today I would still grapple, still jiu-jitsu, still wrestle. I probably wouldn’t box. I would grapple, grappling is something I enjoy so I’m excited.”
As O’Malley continues his reign in the UFC bantamweight division, his love for the grappling arts remains unwavering – even if it means occasionally getting caught by elite grapplers.
