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O’Malley’s home state hasn’t always known what to do with him. He grew up in the capital city of Helena, which sounds cosmopolitan until you realize it’s a town of only about 33,000 people. He left at 19 and wasn’t especially vocal about representing the Treasure State on his way up the UFC ranks. With his dyed hair and face tattoos, he doesn’t necessarily match up with people’s expectations of a Montana boy.
Still, for a lot of people in Montana he was the one MMA fighter they knew of who wasn’t named Conor McGregor. Montana doesn’t exactly have a ton of people to cheer for on the pro sports scene (I write this from Missoula, Montana, where I’m a longtime resident), so O’Malley was definitely better than nothing.
But something changed after he won the UFC 135-pound title last year. That seemed to be the moment when O’Malley went from a colorful MMA personality (with the colorful hair to match) to something approaching a genuine star.
Suddenly, Montanans were very eager to claim O’Malley. He was invited to attend a University of Montana Grizzlies football game this past fall in order to hoist the No. 37 flag before kickoff (a great honor in Montana sports culture, just take my word for it). His appearance on campus, with his pink hair and sparkling jewelry, was nothing short of a mob scene.
sports.yahoo.com
