Sean O'Connell

Sean O'Connell (born September 2, 1983) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed and won a title in the Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional competitor since 2007, O'Connell has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Maximum Fighting Championship. He currently serves as a commentator for the PFL.

Sean is also known for his "antics" pre-fight, in which he demonstrates comedic comradery with his opponent.

Background Originally from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, O'Connell competed in football and wrestling at Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah before continuing his football career collegiately. While in high school O'Connell was a member of the coveted football group Pain Train, which was reserved for only the toughest members of the offensive line. However, O'Connell would transfer to three different schools including Southern Utah University and The University of Utah where he made the team as a walk-on, while looking to get more playing time. O'Connell turned his attention to mixed martial arts to supplement his Football training. O'Connell graduated from The University of Utah, with a degree in psychology. He also attended Weber State.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career O'Connell made his professional MMA debut in 2007 with no striking training other than cardio kickboxing which he would do to help stay in shape. Despite having limited training, O'Connell was successful early on in his career and held an overall record of 6–2, which earned him an invitation to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. O'Connell, however, was eliminated in the opening round to make it to the final cast. O'Connell, who also ran a sports talk show for a radio station in San Francisco at the time was on a five-fight winning streak and held an overall professional record of 14–4, before inviting UFC president Dana White to come onto his show. O'Connell asked White for a contract live on air and was signed a year later.

Ultimate Fighting Championship O'Connell made his promotional debut as a short notice injury replacement at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale on April 16, 2014, against Ryan Jimmo. O'Connell was defeated via knockout in the first round.

His next appearance was also a short notice fight against Gian Villante on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 43, where he replaced an injured Anthony Perosh. O'Connell lost the fight via split decision. Their performance earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.

On January 18, 2015, O'Connell then faced Matt Van Buren at UFC Fight Night 59. he won via third-round TKO. Both participants earned Fight of the Night honors on the same card as Conor McGregor. He then faced Anthony Perosh on May 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 65. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

O'Connell is well known for his weigh-in antics before professional fights. This became his signature as video circulation of his UFC weigh-ins boosted viewership. Goofs include booping Matt Van Buren on the nose or playing an improvised game of rock-paper-scissors with Perosh. He claims he does his jokes to add levity to an otherwise tense situation.

O'Connell faced Ilir Latifi on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.

O'Connell next faced Steve Bossé on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. Bossé was awarded a unanimous decision victory. The back and forth action earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.

O'Connell faced Corey Anderson on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 102. He lost the fight by TKO in the second round.

Professional Fighters League O'Connell signed with PFL in 2018. In his debut, he faced Ronny Markes at PFL 2 on June 21, 2018, in Chicago, Illinois, winning the fight by TKO in the second round.

In his second fight for the promotion, O'Connell faced Bozigit Ataev at PFL 7 on August 30, 2018. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

In the fall of 2018, O'Connell entered the PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. At PFL 9 on October 13, 2018, he defeated Daniel Spohn by majority decision in the quarterfinal round and then fought Smealinho Rama in the semifinal round the same night, winning by knockout. O'Connell faced Vinny Magalhães in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. He won the back-and-forth fight via TKO between the third and fourth round after Vinny Magalhães stopped the bout. With the win, O'Connell was crowned the 2018 PFL Light Heavyweight champion and earned the $1 million cash prize. Of note O’Connell worked as a broadcaster for the PFL commentating cage-side once on the same night as one of his own fights. O’Connell was hired as part of the Professional Fighters League broadcast team after his retirement as cage-side play by play announcer.

Retirement Following his 2018 PFL tournament win, O'Connell announced he was retiring from MMA competition.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Professional Fighters League 2018 Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Three times) UFC.com Awards 2016: Ranked #4 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Win

Vinny Magalhães TKO (corner stoppage) PFL 11

New York City, New York, United States Win

Smealinho Rama KO (punches)

Win

Daniel Spohn Decision (majority)

Loss

Bozigit Ataev TKO (spinning back kick and punches) PFL 7

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Ronny Markes TKO (punches) PFL 2

Chicago, Illinois, United States Loss

Corey Anderson TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov

Albany, New York, United States Loss

Steve Bossé Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Loss

Ilir Latifi KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Anthony Perosh TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt

Adelaide, Australia Win

Matt Van Buren TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Gian Villante Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt

Auckland, New Zealand Loss

Ryan Jimmo KO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Win

Markhaile Wedderburn Submission (rear-naked choke) MFC 39

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Marvin Eastman Decision (unanimous) Showdown Fights 12

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Chris Guillen TKO (punches) Showdown Fights 9

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Kip Ramos TKO (punches) Showdown Fights 7

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Trevor Carlson Decision (unanimous) Showdown Fights 6

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Ben Fuimaono TKO (punches) Fight Night: Explosion

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Loss

Joseph Henle Submission (rear-naked choke) ZarMMA: Fight Night

Layton, Utah, United States Win

Tony King Decision (unanimous) UFO: Rumble at the Races

Kennewick, Washington, United States Win

Dwight Parker Submission (rear-naked choke) WCFC: World Championship Full Contact

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Loss

Jordan Smith Submission (rear-naked choke) Throwdown Showdown 3

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Hank Weiss Decision Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night 5

Layton, Utah, United States Loss

Hank Weiss KO (punches) Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night 1

Layton, Utah, United States Win

Lima Pule Submission (rear-naked choke) UCE: Worlds Collide

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Lima Pule Decision (majority) UCE: Episode 6

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

David Thomas TKO (punches) UCE: Episode 6

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Loss

Kevin Hill TKO (punches) UCE: Episode 1

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Eric Wenzel TKO (punches) UCE: Finals

Salt Lake City, Utah United States Win

Kenneth Wirfs KO (punches) UCE: Episode 7

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Jason Delrio KO (punches) UCE: Episode 2

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States