Sean O’Malley has always been a fighter who stands out. Even before winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship, he captured attention with his unique striking style, vibrant appearance, and confidence on the microphone. His movement and footwork in the octagon are among the most distinctive in MMA and can be compared to those of a kickboxer.
As the 31-year-old’s profile grew, certain things became closely associated with him. His hair color changed on every occasion, and the knockouts and the ‘Suga’ or ‘Sugar’ nickname became his identity.
Every part of the “Suga Show” has become familiar to fans, including the music that plays as he makes the walk to the octagon. While the song has played before some of the biggest fights of his career, many fans are unaware of the story behind it. What led O’Malley to choose the track? What significance does it hold for him? And has he used the same walkout song throughout his UFC run? Here’s a closer look at the music behind his entrance.
What is Sean O’Malley’s Walkout Song?
Sean O’Malley’s current walkout song is “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco.
On August 19, 2023, at TD Garden in Boston, at UFC 292, O’Malley walked to the cage as the challenger. He knocked out Aljamain Sterling in round two and became the UFC Bantamweight Champion. “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco was playing the whole way in when he was walking into the cage. That was the first time ‘Suga Sean’ officially used that song, and from that night onward it stuck.
Why Does Sean O’Malley Walk Out to “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco?
Released in 2007 on Lupe Fiasco’s album “The Cool,” Superstar is his biggest commercial record. It was in the top ten in the US, the UK, and Ireland. Fiasco wrote it around his own come-up. The difficulty of climbing toward something, the questions that follow anyone who claims greatness before the world agrees, and the moment of reckoning when you find out if you actually are what you said you were.
O’Malley has been picking music along that same thread his entire UFC career. Tracks about arriving. About closing the gap between what you say and what you prove. He ran the Suga Show brand, built a social media following, and talked about himself as a future champion years before he had the results to make any of it airtight. When he faced Petr Yan, the former Undisputed Bantamweight Champion, at UFC 280 in 2022, he walked out to Superstar for the first time. Won by split decision; he walked out to it again at UFC 292 and won the title.
After the Sterling knockout, Lupe Fiasco posted on X and thanked O’Malley for using his track. A Grammy-nominated rapper publicly acknowledged that a UFC fighter got the actual point of the song.
Other Songs Sean O’Malley Has Walked Out to in the UFC
Sean O’Malley was not always loyal to one track. Early in his UFC run, the song changed fight to fight.
At UFC 250 in June 2020, he walked out to “Goat Talk (Sugar Sean)” by J. Rob the Chief. A song written specifically for him. Getting a custom track built for a UFC fight at that stage of a career is an unusual move. Most fighters at that level do not bother. O’Malley did, because he was already treating the walkout like a production before the fight card was big enough to warrant it.
He stopped Eddie Wineland with a walk-off knockout. Speaking to Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview, “Suga” made a bold statement about his skills on the feet, saying:
“I’ll say again, I think I have the best striking in MMA. I know it sounds silly because I haven’t fought that many guys, but I’ll continue to do this throughout my career. I really do believe I have the best striking.” (Timestamp: 0:52-1:00)
UFC 280 in October 2022, O’Malley was the underdog in most pre-fight conversations vs Petr Yan. Heading into the biggest fight of his career, O’Malley walked out to a song about believing in yourself when nobody else does. Three rounds later, he had pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career, leaving Abu Dhabi with a split-decision victory.
At UFC 292 in August 2023, he walked out to the same song, but this time the stakes were higher. The Bantamweight Title was on the line. Suga defeated Aljamain Sterling by 2nd-round KO and won the gold at the main event of the show. After that, the walkout song got locked in. UFC 299, UFC 306, UFC 324. By UFC 324.
Why Did Sean O’Malley Change His Walkout Song at UFC 316?
For the first time in his UFC career, O’Malley did not walk out to Superstar at UFC 316 in June 2025. He used “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood instead. Donald Trump was also attending the event. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani show, Suga himself explained why he switched up to the new walkout song.
“I don’t know. I just randomly kind of wanted to switch it up, and then I had that song in mind, and then they said Trump’s going to be there. I was like, ‘Man, all these signs, these are all great signs for me to win. Didn’t happen. But, still, the walkout was, you know, that was cool, it was a cool memory. That was bada**.” (Timestamp: 6:37-6:59)
For the first time ever, Suga’s father was also in his corner that night. Different song, different corner, whole different setup from any fight he had done before, but unfortunately, he lost to Merab Dvalishvili by third-round submission. Second straight loss to the same man.
All the meaningful wins of O’Malley’s UFC career had Superstar behind it. The one night he walked out to something else, he got finished in round three. “God Bless the USA” was a one-fight call, and Superstar is still his walkout song. It’s the one that sounds right when the arena goes dark and he starts moving toward the cage.
