HELENA — When Helena native Sean O’Malley left his hometown to chase mixed martial arts stardom a decade ago, he was a young man with a lot of talent still finding his way in the world.
Flash forward to 2024 and the Suga Show returned to the capital city as a father, a UFC bantamweight champion and one of the most famous athletes in the world.
O’Malley was in town for the grand opening of the Town Pump store on Montana Avenue, where he greeted fans and promoted Happy Dad Hard Seltzer and Ryze Energy drink — two of his sponsors.
An hour before O’Malley arrived, hundreds of fans were already lined up inside the store and spilling out through the front entrance.
It was a full circle homecoming for the Suga Show, which made his father Dan O’Malley proud.
“I’ve talked to Sean about it in the past, and he's so busy. He just did the Tom Brady roast, and he was with Jake Paul in Florida, but I called him and it took him a split second to say, ‘Absolutely I want to come back home to Helena. I want to see the my hometown. I want to be there for the fans,’” Dan O'Malley said.
“So he made all the arrangements. He didn't even think twice about coming back to Helena, which I thought was cool.”
Click on the video above to see some of the sights and sounds of Sean O’Malley’s trip to Helena.
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