Sean O’Malley’s hair has been a central talking point for MMA fans since he made his UFC debut many years ago. The UFC world champion ‘Sugar’ Sean has been able to grab headlines with his impressive hairstyles. Ahead of UFC 306, we take a look at Sean O’Malley’s hair through the years.
Sean O’Malley’s Hair Timeline
Sean O’Malley’s Hair
In 2017, Sean O’Malley made his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series followed by a feature on the Ultimate Fighter Finale. All the while, Sean O’Malley’s hair was just brown, puffy, and curly. At UFC 222, in 2018, was the last time we would see brown hair on the MMA fighter.
UFC 250, in 2020, ‘Sugar’ Sean brought out the iconic rainbow haircut. Some fans were embarrassed, while others were impressed. The Ecuador flag colors adorned the doo of O’Malley at UFC 252 to taunt his opponent Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
UFC 260 would see a muted rainbow color style, but it’s still fresh. UFC 264 had Sean O’Malley’s hair mixing light pink and purple. UFC 276 saw O’Malley roll out a bold hot pink style.
For a title eliminator at UFC 280 against Petr Yan, ‘Sugar’ Sean sported bright red. UFC 292 he knocked out then-champion Aljamain Sterling with a mix of yellows and other colors. His title defense at UFC 299 saw a bold pick with a mix of bright purple and blue.
O’Malley’s hair is styled by his wife, who does haircare professionally. We still have yet to see what hairstyle Sean will wear at UFC 306 when he faces Merab Dvalishvili at The Sphere.
Discussing his hair, O’Malley explained:
“The fans love it, the media, it’s something to talk about. The last time I did it, the whole fight week was about my hair. It’s something to talk about and just showing some love … Win, lose, draw, whatever, I’m here to fight and I’m here to put on a show.”
For UFC 306, ‘Sugar’ Sean predicts:
“The way he blitzes in, the ways [Merab is] loppy. He is slow. It is not going to end well for him. I do not understand where the confidence comes from… He’s never fought anyone like me.”