Sean O’Malley reveals financial hardships suffered while attempting to clear his name

Undefeated bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley recently opened up on his financial hardships caused by his recent tangle with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

At UFC 248 in Las Vegas, “Sugar” Sean will return to fight Jose Alberto Quinonez. It will mark the first time he has stepped foot in the Octagon to fight in almost two years.

His last bout took place in March 2018, when he weathered a leg injury to beat Andre Soukhamthath by unanimous decision. His lengthy break can be attributed to a drug-testing debacle.

Originally he tested positive for trace amounts of Ostarine in October 2018 which forced him to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 229 fight against Quinonez. He received a six-month suspension for the failed test, which was eventually attributed to a contaminated supplement.

Unfortunately, the hardship didn’t end there for O’Malley. In May of 2019, he tested positive for Ostarine once again. He was forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 239 fight against Marlon “Chito” Vera.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) concluded that the positive test result was a result of his previous ingestion of Ostarine from a contaminated supplement. As a result, they decided not to suspend him, but The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) did issue a temporary suspension.

On top of that, Sugar Sean had to undergo hip surgery which pushed back his return even further.

Now O’Malley is free to return to what he does best, but the financial hardships haven’t been easy for the bantamweight fighter.

“I mean, how much is a lawyer for a year and a half?” O’Malley told The Athletic of the costs he incurred during this ordeal. “And then each supplement is $1,000 to test. We tested about 20 supplements. So, I don’t know. Some fucking crazy number. Something stupid that hasn’t necessarily paid off.”

Sean O’Malley tried to shrug off the tainted supplement debacle, but it is clear that the ongoing battle has put a strain on the 25-year old. Hopefully, he will get back on track on the preliminary card of UFC 248.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/6/2020.