Sean O’Malley has revealed that one of his own training partners intentionally broke his rib just six weeks before his career-defining title fight against Aljamain Sterling, leaving the future UFC bantamweight champion unable to train properly heading into the biggest night of his career.
Speaking on his podcast, O’Malley recounted the incident involving teammate Tommy McMillen while preparing for his UFC 292 showdown with Sterling in August 2023. ‘Suga’ said:
“He was the one that broke my rib. I was doing rounds with him for Aljo, he had me in a body lock, I went to turn, he squeezed, and I just felt my rib. It was horrible.”
McMillen admitted the injury wasn’t accidental. He said:
“I literally told Tim, the only way Suga wins this fight is if he can’t get grabbed. So I said, ‘Tim, I’m going to go in there and pop Suga’s rib out. Not bad enough he can’t fight, bad enough he knows he can’t get touched.’ I just popped his rib out real quick.”
O’Malley added that the injury dramatically impacted his preparation. The 31-year-old continued:
“That was six weeks before the title fight. I couldn’t hit mitts. I rode the bike and ran for six weeks leading into that fight.”
Check out Sean O’Malley’s and Tommy McMillen’s comments below:
Sean O’Malley Overcame the Injury to Capture UFC Gold
Despite entering UFC 292 with limited preparation, Sean O’Malley delivered the biggest performance of his career. Facing the then-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who had defended the title three consecutive times, O’Malley produced a stunning second-round knockout to claim the UFC bantamweight championship.
The revelation makes that victory even more remarkable, considering he entered the bout after spending most of his camp unable to spar or perform striking drills at full intensity.
Since capturing the title, O’Malley’s journey has included setbacks. He dropped the championship to Merab Dvalishvili before falling short again in their rematch, leaving many questioning when, or if, he would return to title contention.
However, the 31-year-old has worked his way back into the conversation. At UFC White House, O’Malley returned to the win column with an impressive victory that re-established him among the division’s leading contenders and reignited discussion of another championship opportunity.
His latest revelation offers fresh insight into one of the most memorable title wins in recent UFC history. Winning the bantamweight belt is difficult under any circumstances. Doing it after six weeks of being unable to train normally due to a deliberately inflicted rib injury makes O’Malley’s championship triumph over Sterling even more extraordinary.
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