O’Malley gifted Murray with his own UFC belt, and Murray, in exchange, signed a jersey for the champ. Murray said there was a spot in his office where the belt will be displayed.
After practice, O’Malley caught a couple of passes from Murray, tried to pass rush against Will Hernandez with tips from Dennis Gardeck, and chopped it up with Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr.
O’Malley was born in Montana but has lived in Arizona for the past decade. While he grew up a Broncos fan, following in his mother’s footsteps, he lost touch with the sport once he began training. In fact, like many young kids, playing in the NFL was his first dream.
“(These drills) are probably the closest I’ll get to being in the NFL, but I’ll take it,” he said.
With a Cardinals team that is on the rise, O’Malley has switched his allegiance to the new home team.
“The Cardinals are my team now,” O’Malley said. “I live 20 minutes from the stadium. I’ve been here for ten years, so this feels like home and I’m excited to get back into it and have a team to root for.”
UFC Noche will be a monumental day for live sports since the event will be held at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the first live sporting event to be held at the venue.
“It’ll probably hit me after when I see the highlights of me knocking (Dvalishvili) out,” O’Malley said. “But right now it’s no different than fighting in T-Mobile Arena or Boston or Miami. I’m getting into a same-size cage and doing what I do.”
With an 18-1 record (don’t ask about the loss — he will tell you he’s undefeated after avenging his defeat to Marlon “Chito” Vera this past March), O’Malley, who is “known for shutting people’s lights off,” is predicting a first or second-round knockout.
“Sean is one of the best and his ability to do what he does and find people’s chins,” Murray said. “At his size, the way he does it and the swag that he does it with, it’s fun to watch.”
Hernandez is from Las Vegas and has tons of respect for O’Malley, especially considering he’s in the main event on a fight card that’s intended to pay homage to Mexican Independence Day weekend.
“The Mexican fans love Sean O’Malley,” Hernandez said. “We are, by breed, just scrappy people, and we work hard. That’s exactly what he does in there. He’s a big representation of us.”
The fight will take place the night before the Cardinals welcome the Rams to town for the 2024 home opener at State Farm Stadium. Whether it’s against the Rams or one of the other home outings, O’Malley shared his interest in attending a game.
But first, he has business to handle at The Sphere.
“It’s going to feel good knocking him out, boom, and then looking over at (Dvalishvili’s) team just devastated,” O’Malley said. “I’m going to enjoy that a lot.”
