UFC bantamweight contender Sean “Suga” O’Malley made his case for jiu-jitsu as the ultimate self-defense discipline during a recent appearance on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast.
When the conversation turned to what an average person could do to protect themselves, O’Malley was direct.
“I just need to learn jiu-jitsu. Everyone do jiu-jitsu,” he said. “Jiu-jitsu is the best form of like self-defense 100%.”
O’Malley, currently ranked third in the UFC bantamweight division, broke the discipline down in straightforward terms for the hosts.
“Jiu-jitsu is like kind of like on the ground where you can sit at people and you can choke people,” he said.
He told the host that serious commitment to the art would produce real results fast, offering a specific benchmark.
He stated, “If you had a blue belt, if you did jiu-jitsu for two years, I would be very confident that you would be able to submit like an average size male.”
His belief runs deep enough to extend to his own family. O’Malley revealed that his five-year-old daughter is already training.
“My daughter’s in jiu-jitsu. She’s five,” he said.
The athlete also explained how he personally would handle a street confrontation, making clear that his training level changes the approach entirely.
“If I got in a street brawl, I wouldn’t punch somebody. I might hit them in the body or I’d realistically take someone down and put them in a submission kind of to where they’re defending. Take their back, choke them,” he said.
The conversation also touched on the legal reality professional athletes face when it comes to self-defense. O’Malley acknowledged hearing early in his career that trained athletes occupy a different legal position in a confrontation.
“I remember hearing that like when I was like 16, 17 years old when I first started training. They’re like, ‘Oh, now you can’t get in street brawls cuz you’re considered a weapon,'” he said. “There’s probably some truth to it.”
