UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley got honest about his personal struggles during a recent appearance on Bradley Martyn’s Raw Talk podcast. The 32-year-old star opened up about his commitment to abstinence, the challenges of fame, and how his wife Danya has been his anchor through years of temptation.
O’Malley revealed that in December 2024, following his loss to Merab Dvalishvili and subsequent surgery he made a dramatic life change. After what he described as an “amazing mushroom trip,” he decided to quit social media and commit to a two-year period without self-pleasure.
“I got off social media and that was, so this December will be like 2 years. So I’m done [ ] off. I’m like, I don’t even know why I decided that one,” he admitted.
The star explained that 80% of his reason for leaving social media was related to seeing women online.
“Social media for me getting off it was like 80% for the girls. Like just you seeing girls on there. Like that messed me up,” he said candidly.
On his 32nd birthday in Florida, O’Malley described facing what he called his “biggest weakness.” After attending a PrizePicks event with attractive women and receiving FaceTime calls from friends with “hot blondes” encouraging him to go out, he found himself struggling.
“I’m battling demons. My buddy’s FaceTiming me with these hot blondes. ‘Sugar, oh my god, come over. It’s your birthday.’ And I just got done seeing chicks at this event… My mind is just, I’m battling demons. I battle demons every day with this,” he confessed.
O’Malley described the internal conflict using religious imagery: “I’m like, God, are you testing me? Are you hooking me up? Are you giving me a layup, brother? Are you alley-ooping me for a slam dunk, bro? I don’t know if God’s hooking me up or testing his toughest soldier.”
He ultimately broke his nearly two-year streak that night.
“I was laying there and I’m looking up. I’m not going to say who. Somebody we did see the PrizePicks van. I’m just like, all right. This is perfect. I got to get this out. It wasn’t long. It wasn’t romantic,” he said.
Afterward, he felt relieved rather than regretful: “No regret. I’m like, that saved me. That probably saved me.”
O’Malley credits his wife Danya whom he met at age 19, with keeping him grounded throughout his rise to fame.
“My entire 20s, I met Danya my wife, when I was like 19. And I was with Danya all the way through my 20s. And me, I mean her and I look back and we’re like how did we make it through that?”
He described a particularly challenging period when he started making money and becoming famous while simultaneously beginning to drink and party for the first time.
“A lot of people practice they’re in like high school drinking a little bit. They go to college, they drink a little bit. They’re broke, they’re whatever. Now I’m like kind of the man making money and I’m drinking for the first time. I was like holy [ ], like that was a, there was a few years where I was like a knucklehead.”
The athlete acknowledged putting his wife through difficult times but emphasized her stabilizing influence: “If I didn’t have her, my 20s would’ve been like I don’t think I would, I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t have Danya. Didn’t have something stable like to like bring me back to reality every once in a while.”
When discussing the unique challenges athletes face, O’Malley explained the complex dynamic created by fame earned through combat sports. “When you’re famous and have money from knocking from beating people’s [ ] like in a level of, I mean no you’re not taught how to manage that. And you add stuff onto that it’s like, it’s that’s a rough, it’s crazy.”
Throughout the interview, O’Malley repeatedly referred to his struggles with attraction as his “biggest weakness,” stating: “It’s just the truth and I dislike it. I dislike that I got this testosterone running through my veins like that, but I do.”
Despite these challenges, O’Malley expressed deep gratitude for his family life. He and Danya now have two children, and he’s maintained his commitment to being present at home.
He said, “I’m very, very lucky and grateful that we’re still together cuz there’s multiple times where she’s like, I’m done with your dumb self. Which rightfully so, I’m like, I can see that.”
