UFC star Sean O’Malley says he leaned in to tell Donald Trump he had “knocked out a Canadian for you” moments after flooring his opponent at the president’s White House fight night.
O’Malley, 31, stopped Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi by second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday, the event Trump staged on the South Lawn to mark his 80th birthday and—prematurely—the 250th anniversary of his country’s independence. The win ended Zahabi’s seven-fight streak.
Asked on The Ariel Helwani Show what he said to the president cageside, O’Malley recalled: “I said, ‘Happy birthday, knocked out a Canadian for you.’ I think that’s what I said. People keep asking me what I said, and I’m trying to recall.”
He added that Trump’s reply was: “You should get the bonus.”
The president didn’t get his wish. O’Malley was passed over for a performance bonus despite his walk-off finish, in which he saluted the crowd before Zahabi had even hit the canvas. He told Helwani he was sure he’d locked one up: “I thought I had it locked in. I really did.”
The UFC handed out a $400,000 Fight of the Night award and two $425,000 Performance of the Night bonuses on the night, but with all seven fights ending in knockouts, the promotion piled the money on the title fights—giving both performance bonuses to main-event winner Justin Gaethje and co-main winner Ciryl Gane, and leaving O’Malley with only a $25,000 knockout bonus.
The fight carried an unusual amount of weight, the fighter said. “It definitely felt a little bit different… because it was at the White House,” he explained. “I was fighting the only Canadian on the card, Trump’s birthday, America’s birthday, all these extra things.”
Trump watched cage-side in a white “USA” hat and shook O’Malley’s hand after the fight. Zahabi had walked out to “O Canada,” and the crowd chanted “USA! USA!” as the American fighter took the floor.
It was a chaotic night outside the cage. Middleweight champion Sean Strickland turned up uninvited and was escorted from the Ellipse by U.S. Park Police, who said his “unplanned presence” caused “disorder.” The main event saw Justin Gaethje upset lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.
O’Malley now wants a title shot against bantamweight champion Petr Yan. “That’s who I want,” he said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
