Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley never hid his marijuanas use. He’d regularly consumed while on air during his podcast on YouTube. The channel was sponsored by marijuana-relate products.
“Suga” decided to make lifestyle changes heading into this year after losing the championship to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September. O’Malley no longer gets on social media and he no longer smokes marijuana. He explained why on his coach’s YouTube channel.
“I do like it. I just lately haven’t been,” O’Malley said on his coach Tim Welch’s podcast.
A rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley headlines the UFC 316 fight card on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. The possibility of having to go 25 minutes with Dvalishvili again motivated O’Malley’s decision. He wants to be in peak condition when he walks out at the Prudential Center.
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“Just keep the lungs opened up ready to f*cking go 25 minutes. I didn’t like the way it was making me feel after awhile,” O’Malley revealed. “I gave me like this paranoia feeling. I just kind of wasn’t enjoying it. I feel like I was was doing it because I was almost like addicted. I just wanted take a rip instead of taking it and being like fully enjoying it. But I’ve been enjoying not smoking.”
Following the UFC 306 championship loss to Dvalishvili, O’Malley underwent hip surgery. The rematch with Dvalishvili on June 7 will be his first fight since losing the title. While O’Malley watched from the sidelines, Dvalishvili successfully defended the title at UFC 311 in January, defeating the Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision.
