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Sean O’Malley hasn’t forgotten his roots.
The UFC bantamweight champion was in attendance for the Montana Grizzlies’ 17-10 victory over Ferris State this past weekend, and he was in the thick of the festivities both before and after the game.
Following the win, the University of Montana players made sure to head over to the sidelines to celebrate with O’Malley and deliver a rousing rendition of the school fight song.
FINAL: Montana tops Ferris State 17-10.
— Kyle Hansen (@khansen406) September 17, 2023
And how about this celebration? The entire Griz football team does the fight song with Sean O’Malley afterwards. What a scene in Missoula…#GrizFB @SugaSeanMMA pic.twitter.com/YAAcC7GC78
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 17, 2023
O’Malley currently fights out of the MMA Lab in Phoenix, but he often fondly mentions his hometown of Helena, Mont., when discussing his background. Clearly, the Grizzlies appreciated O’Malley swinging by Missoula to take in their win over the Ferris State Bulldogs, which saw Montana improve to 3-0 on the season.
There was plenty of pre-game partying going on too, with O’Malley having the honor of raising the No. 37 flag, a jersey number that has been passed down since 1983 that is meant to signify “hard work, dedication to the team, and tough play on the gridiron,” according to the university’s official athletics site.
Absolute mob scene as Sean O’Malley raises the legacy No. 37 flag at tonight’s Montana Grizzly football game. I swear that’s him with the purple hair. pic.twitter.com/YRICzdQOqf
— Chad Dundas (@chaddundas) September 17, 2023
Sean O’Malley prepares to raise the legacy 37 flag at tonight’s Montana Grizzly football game. My interests! pic.twitter.com/PKtIZaXHaX
— Chad Dundas (@chaddundas) September 16, 2023
Helena native and current UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) raises the No. 37 flag prior to the Montana Grizzlies football game against Ferris State tonight at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. #GrizFB #mtscores pic.twitter.com/wLKvvepR9i
— Frank Gogola (@FrankGogola) September 17, 2023
O’Malley has been on a victory tour of his own since defeating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. “Sugar” scored a thrilling second-round TKO of Sterling at the August pay-per-view to complete his ascent from buzz-worthy Contender Series signing to UFC bantamweight champion.
He also took to Instagram to share more photos and a video of himself with the Grizzlies players:
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