O’Malley explains ‘undefeated’ claim: I know how to accept losses

Sean O’Malley explains his reasoning behind his claims of being ‘undefeated’ despite losing to Marlon Vera at UFC 252.

Sean O’Malley’s official record to date is 15-1 (with 1 NC). That lone loss was courtesy of Marlon “Chito” Vera, who won via first-round TKO at UFC 252 in 2020.

After that fight, “Sugar” Sean riled up fans by claiming he’s “mentally undefeated.”

“I’ve seen a lot of people saying, ‘take your loss like a man,’” he said at the time. “And I don’t get that.

“On paper, I’m 12-1. I lost August 15th. I’m 12-1. And in my head, I didn’t lose shit. I’m 12-0, I didn’t lose. I get that I lost. But mentally, I didn’t lose.”

The 27-year-old O’Malley was recently featured on Anatomy of a Fighter, where he touched on that particular narrative.

“The whole Chito fight, that thing that drives people crazy is, in my head, as a competitor… how many times does someone’s nerve get kicked and their foot drops and they roll their ankle five times in a row and they can’t walk?

“So for me, and me saying ‘Oh, I didn’t lose that fight,’ obviously, I didn’t f—ng win it. I’m not here saying I won it. I’m gonna say I didn’t lose it.

“That’s the narrative, like, I don’t know how to take a loss. I think people will be surprised if someday… they’ll be surprised if I lose in general, but how I handle it, that’s not one of my biggest fears.”

O’Malley will take on the biggest fight of his career at UFC 280 when he faces former champion, Petr Yan. It will take place on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.