UFC 260 | The Sugar Show is Back and Better Than Ever

WELCOME TO THE SUGAR SHOW

Say whatever you want about about the so called “antics” or the “attitude” of “Sugar” Sean O’Malley, but the guy is a firecracker just itching for an excuse to set off. Mentally undefeated or actually undefeated, but who cares in the grand scheme of things when he’s knocking dudes out with lefts and rights like there’s no tomorrow? Sugar is this explosive colorful enigmatic orb of charisma that is perfect for the entertainment industry. The dude also has some ridiculously heavy hands. If there was ever a guy destined to put grown men to sleep for the pleasurable entertainment of others, Sean O’Malley is that guy.

This past Saturday, the Sugar Show was on display for the world to see, and we were not disappointed. Sugar O’Malley was going up against a super tough guy in Thomas Almeida. The Brazilian was in a tough spot, dropping his past three fights before Saturday’s showdown with O’Malley. It felt like Almeida was fighting for his spot with the promotion, and unfortunately things didn’t really go up from there. But that wouldn’t stop Almeida from giving it a go.

O’Malley was looking for a bounce-back of his own, after a controversial fight against Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 252. O’Malley suffered nerve damage in his leg, which caused him to have drop foot. Essentially, his peroneal nerve got damaged, which causes inability to lift up the front part of the affected foot. It also made it extremely difficult to stand or put pressure on it. Because of this, O’Malley was finished in the first round by Chito Vera, but stills claims his undefeated record, because had the nerve damage not occurred, O’Malley claims he would have won the fight. I respect the mindset of Sugar here, because he wasn’t able to compete the way he normally does. But sometimes during a fight, freak accidents happen and it is what it is. Respect to Chito for getting the job done. But don’t think anything like that would stop the Sugar Show from coming to town. 13-?

Coming into the fight, everyone’s attention was on O’Malley, but more specifically, his legs. Most people kept saying Almeida’s easiest path to victory would be to attack the legs of O’Malley. But in all honesty, this game doesn’t work on should-be hypotheticals. I don’t exactly know what Almeida’s gameplan was, because Sugar dictated pretty much the entire fight. Just over halfway through the first round, O’Malley landed a huge left kick to Almeida’s cranium, then he proceeds to immediately drop him with a left hook. It looked like the fight was over, but Thomas Almeida is one tough you-know-what. He ate those shots but he wasn’t knocked out. Almeida took a tumble, but he immediately went to defend himself when O’Malley dropped him. Kudos to him, because I don’t know how his lights weren’t out.

Everyone was coming after O’Malley for trying to walk it off after dropping Almeida, but I feel like it was more than just wanting style points. Safety could’ve been apart of it. Some guys don’t want to injure their opponent any more then they have to, especially if they think the fight is over. O’Malley has had walk off knockouts before, so this was not a new thing for him. You’d think he would have a decent idea that his opponent was KO’d if he’s constantly knocking guys out. Maybe he thought Almeida was done and the ref was about to jump in and stop it. But if those don’t suit your fancy then this should. Apparently, O’Malley had shirts made before the fight that said “Another right hand from Sugaland” on the front of them. I don’t even need to see it to know I want one, but thats’ beside the point. Anyways, O’Malley dropped Almeida with his left hand, not his right, which could have affected how the shirt sold. Would they still have sold well? Probably. I bet they look sick. But it would be more fitting to fit the merch. So there you have it. The truth behind O’Malley not following up on Almeida wasn’t just because of him wanting to make the highlight reel; he’s got a business to run, and mouths to feed. I’m sure we can all respect that.

The first round ended, and it seemed all but certain O’Malley would find a way to finish the job. Sugar did a great job using his kicks to keep backing Almeida up early on, and the separation would only help O’Malley. He also continued to utilize some low kicks of his own, which would help immobilize Almeida later on. Almeida seemed to gain more traction in the second round, managing to land some shots of his own, meanwhile not taking as much damage as he had in the first round. It looked for a second or two like O’Malley was regretting not going for the kill in the first round, but he stayed patient and showed diligence. O’Malley entered the final round against a desperate opponent who needed to finish the fight for any chance of victory.

When the third round began, it was evident that the Sugar Show doesn’t have issues running longer than the program’s scheduled viewing time. O’Malley’s conditioning proved to be supreme, and he wasn’t even breathing that heavy when the second round ended. He looked ready to go get the knockout he left in the first round. The leg kicks O’Malley landed early on did their job, and it was obvious that Almeida’s mobility was limited. O’Malley started connecting shots and picked Almeida apart. He made him miss and countered well. Almeida steps in and O’Malley drops him again with his left hand, but once again Almeida wasn’t out…yet.

O’Malley watched Almeida go to the canvas, but once he realized the fight was still going on, he did what everyone expected him to do in the first round. Sugar casually walks over like a gangster while Almeida is rolling around, and delivers a bomb worthy of the Allied Powers. O’Malley landed a beautiful right hand that stiffened Almeida like board, ending the fight in spectacular fashion. Lights out. What can you do? It was just another right hand from Sugaland.

It was as sweet of a night as you could ask for from Sean O’Malley after his last fight against Chito Vera. Now the real question is what’s next for the Sugar Show? It’s been announced that McGrgor VS Poirier III will take place on July 10th later this year, which will should be extremely entertaining. Suga Sean reportedly wants to get in on the action, eyeing the co-main event spot of the trilogy fight between Poirier and McGregor. Dominick Cruz’s name has come up as an opponent for O’Malley, and that would be a great way for O’Malley to continue to legitimize himself in the Bantamweight division.

Say what you will about Sean O’Malley, but the guy is electric as all get out. I don’t know why, but I can definitely see Sugar and Co. roll up the next fight in a decked out, tie-dye van blasting Grateful Dead all the way. Forget the Mystery Machine, I’m hopping into the Sugaland Van and riding that thing right to the promised land. At the very least, O’Malley will grab a Bantamweight title in the process.