UFC 222 results: Sean O’Malley survives severe leg injury, beats Andre Soukhamthath

The legend of “Suga” Sean O’Malley continues to grow.

The MMA Lab product by way of Montana put on an incredible show of heart in earning a unanimous decision victory over Andre Soukhamthath on Saturday at UFC 222.

O’Malley, who looked well on his way to victory, appeared to suffer a broken foot early in the third round of their bantamweight bout. But he managed to tough his way through the rest of the round and survive until the horn.

O’Malley improved to 10-0 by getting scores of 29-27, 29-27, and 29-28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.


“I can’t feel it, it went numb and I felt nothing,” O’Malley said in an incredible post-fight interview done while he was still on his back due to the injury. “Nothing I can’t fix with a little medicine at my after party.”

O’Malley dominated the first round in what might have been a 10-8 performance, mixing up a wide array of punches and kicks from all angles, with a highlight being a spinning back fist followed immediately by a head kick.

Soukhamthath was out on his feet at the end of the round, but got back into the game in the second, scoring a takedown. Even there, though, O’Malley worked a triangle from the bottom and ultimately got out of trouble.

Then came the memorable third round, in which O’Malley was injured. It’s possible Soukhamthath might have gotten a TKO simply from making O’Malley stand and have the doctor wave off the bout. But he tried without success to finish O’Malley on the ground, as the latter made it to the horn.

“I definitely I couldn’t stand on it” O’Malley said. “Me and Andre talked a lot, nothing but respect from him, I love everything about this sport.”

Andre Soukhamthath dropped to 12-6 with his third loss out of his past four fights.