When Joe Rogan was caught off guard by Sean O'Malley's lack of traditional martial arts roots: "'Suga' Sean is special"

Sean O'Malley will look to reclaim the bantamweight title this weekend as he faces Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 in a rematch of their UFC 306 bout, where he lost the belt. The No.1-ranked bantamweight was once praised by Joe Rogan for his ability to thrive despite not having traditional roots in any form of martial arts.

Speaking to guest Will Harris on episode #130 of JRE MMA Show back in September 2022, the UFC commentator stated:

"'Suga' Sean is special. I think he's special. He's special with his intelligence. He's special with his ability to land things. You know, when I first met him, I was talking to him, I was like, 'You don't have a background in traditional martial arts?'

"Because you see him throw kicks, you would assume, oh, this kid is like a karate champion or something. Nope. Learned everything all at once."

Harris chimed in, saying:

"I feel like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] has the best read on fights and fighters. His f**king IQ when it comes to fighters - when he was in the Hall [of Fame], getting inducted, they asked him how good was O'Malley.

"It was me, [Daniel Cormier], Ali [Abdelaziz], we were backstage and Khabib was like, 'Sean O'Malley is that guy,' and if Khabib said that, I was like, 'Yeah.'"

Check out Joe Rogan and Will Harris' comments on Sean O'Malley below:

O'Malley went on to defeat Petr Yan via split decision at UFC 280 just over one month later. He then captured the bantamweight title with a second-round TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, then defended his title with a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera at UFC 299.

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Sean O'Malley reveals why he won't dye his hair for UFC 316

Sean O'Malley has become synonymous with having colored hair throughout his run to the bantamweight title. However, he will compete without his dyed hair for the first time since 2020 when he faces Merab Dvalishvili this weekend.

Speaking at the UFC 316 media day, he revealed his reasoning, stating:

"I just didn't want to sit down for it. I love the pink hair. It's fun, but it is a process, and I was just kind of, I thought bringing back the OG hair would be pretty cool, too. I think last time I had this was José Quiñónez.

"The first time I did my hair was June 6, 2020, so almost five years ago to the day. And, yeah, so it was pretty crazy. I thought bringing back the OG hair was - it was cool."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments on not dyeing his hair below (starting at the 3:42 mark):

The No.1-ranked bantamweight will look to join Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw as the third two-time champion in divisional history.