Sean O’Malley recently shared a candid and introspective take on his self-admittedly underwhelming skills on the microphone.

‘Sugar’ has had one of the largest fan bases of any UFC fighter since before becoming champion. He believes that his popularity has come as a result of his performances and not his trash-talking skills.

But O’Malley acknowledged the work he still needs to do in order to be as entertaining on the mic as either Chael Sonnen or Conor McGregor, two of the most linguistically talented fighters the promotion has ever had.

Bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen has recently gone back and forth with ‘Sugar’ about his fanbase. ‘The Sandman’ also stated during a recent interview that he should change his approach to his self-image, joking that he should “hang out with more rappers” or get a face tattoo to gain more fans.

During a recent episode of the TimboSugaShow, ‘Sugar’ opened up about his trash-talking, saying this:

“People are like, ‘Just be yourself.’ If yourself is kind of boring, you’re only gonna be so big. You have to kind of be yourself-ish. Kind of add a little extra.”

He continued:

“Conor [McGregor] was being himself but he was also being more, what they want. Showing up to press conferences late…. Stealing the f***ing belt. That’s not himself, he’s being a f***ing character… That’s something I definitely need to work on, is press conference and [microphone] skills. It’s hard for me… For me, my performances got me where I’m at, not my mic skills, I’m not Conor. Conor on the mic, f***ing incredible.”

Listen to Sean O’Malley below from 36:04: