“I’ll Be a Water Boy”: Sean O’Malley Reveals ‘Physical’ Reason for Dropping NFL Dream and Pivoting to UFC

Sean O’Malley, like every other American kid wanted to become a professional NFL player growing up. But the dream of walking out of the tunnel on Sunday night with the team, ready to leave it all on the field was just that, a dream. He could not pursue football as he switched to MMA and Jiu Jitsu due to some physical limitations.

And thank god for that, because otherwise the UFC would have been deprived of one of the best strikers it has ever seen.

O’Malley played a lot of football growing up, idolizing the likes of Tom Brady but he quickly realized he would not get far as a professional.

In an interview with the Buffalo Bills YouTube channel, the UFC bantamweight champion spoke about his NFL aspirations. He also revealed what made him realize he could not make it pro,

“I realized real quick when I was about high school, I was like, I’m not growing much more, I am too f*cking little for this….I’ll be a water boy for the football guys, I can’t take a hit from no one.”

The left tackle for the Buffalo Bills, Dion Dawkins assured the UFC fighter that he had his back. O’Malley does claim to be a good wide receiver though due to his movement.

However, that dream could never turn into reality as he believes he was too small to play in the NFL. Luckily for him, there’s weight classes in the UFC so he fit right in.

But his love for football persists, which is why ‘Suga’ had a fanboy moment when the UFC president Dana White took him to The Roast of Tom Brady.

O’Malley starstruck by Brady’s encouraging words

Sean O’Malley was one of two guests that Dana White took to the Roast Of Tom Brady; a live event hosted by Netflix where comedians and Brady’s teammates took turns to brutally make fun of him.

Following the event, ‘Suga’ got to meet the former quarterback, and in an interview with The Schmo, spoke about their interaction.

“I introduced myself and he said he knew who I was and you know keep doing my thing. And s*it that was pretty cool….Tom Brady is a rare man amongst rare men so it’s cool to meet people like that.”

The bantamweight fighter could not believe that his childhood sporting idol knew who he was. Not only that, he even encouraged him to keep pushing for greatness and doing what he was doing.

All in all, it was a successful event for O’Malley getting to mingle with the who’s who of Hollywood. Except for the part where he got roasted for looking the way he does. So a full circle, then!