Sean O'Malley names inspiration behind rainbow hair, explains how it affected his success story: "He was such a character"

Multi-coloured hair has become a distinct aspect of Sean O'Malley's personality and has helped the former bantamweight champion stand out among his peers. However, the inspiration behind O'Malley's adopting the style was unknown thus far.

In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson, O'Malley explained why he chose to start coloring his hair, stating:

"Actually, 6ix9ine [Pronounced: Six-Nine] was the inspiration of the rainbow hair, because he was such a character. He's captivating. I was like, 'If I do my hair, people are going to freak out. The first time I did my hair was at the Eddie Wineland fight. I go out there and knock him out... The hair plus that kind of knockout was like a recipe for success."

He added:

"The UFC loved the hair. Everyone in the UFC was like, 'Oh, my god. Everyone's talking about your hair.' I had to do so many extra photos and so much extra media just because I did my hair. I was like, 'I'm onto something. So every single fight was like a new hair. So that helped a lot."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below:

Daniel Hernandez, popularly known by his ring name, 6ix9ine, is an American rapper. His vibrant, rainbow-colored hair has been a significant part of his public persona. Over the years, he has experimented with several hair colors, sometimes even opting for blonde or his natural hair color.

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When Sean O'Malley used his hair as a part of mental warfare

Sean O'Malley at the UFC 252 weigh-ins. [Image courtesy - Getty Images]

As Sean O'Malley's colorful hair garnered significant attention, the 32-year-old tried to go beyond looks with his choice of hair color. At UFC 252 in August 2020, O'Malley was scheduled to face Marlon 'Chito' Vera of Ecuador.

Heading into the fight, O'Malley dyed his hair in the colors of Ecuadorian flag - yellow, blue and red. Explaining the reason for the choice of color, O'Malley said that he did it to "show love to his Ecuadorian fans." However, observers speculated that O'Malley was trying to get into Vera's head.

Unfortunately for O'Malley, he could not deliver the expected result and lost by first-round TKO. He avenged the loss three years later, defeating 'Chito' by unanimous decision to secure his first bantamweight title defence.