They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — and Jessica-Rose Clark is taking that to heart when it comes to Sean O’Malley.
O’Malley has become one of the brightest prospects in MMA since debuting in the UFC in 2017. Attracting attention as much for his exciting fights as for his flamboyant style, O’Malley frequently sports brightly colored hair alongside his signature body art. O’Malley’s most prominent tattoos include a series of facial tattoos. Clark apparently inspired them to be done.
On a recent episode of his podcast, O’Malley admitted that his first face tattoo, a small heart under his right eye, was directly inspired by Clark, who sports a heart tattoo under her left eye. And according to Clark, it came about after she showed O’Malley around Las Vegas one day.
“We had the same management for awhile, so we became friends in Vegas after he won on [Contender Series],” Clark told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “He came to town and we met up. I took him around Vegas and showed him the sights. Two weeks later, he had a tattoo on his face. I was like, ‘That has to be because of me. It’s impossible that he would hang out with me then go and get a tattoo on his face. But, that’s the first time that he has admitted it was due to me. He looks amazing in it. Just be honest about it — let me be the inspiration.”
Like O’Malley, Clark is also known for her copious amounts of body art. The Australian fighter said on The MMA Hour that she has around 100 tattoos, many of which are the result of her tattoo artist being one of her best friends. Clark currently sports two face tattoos, the aforementioned heart under her left eye and a small anchor under her right eye, which she explained the significance of to Helwani.
“This one’s a broken heart, and initially it was because my nickname is ‘The Heartbreaker,’ and my ex actually got one on his face and convinced me to get it,” Clark said. After I arrived in the U.S., I had it dyed purple and then I left Clark. I wanted to change it a little bit. And then the anchor, I’d always heard this story — because American traditional tattooing comes from the Navy — so I’d always heard this story about guys in the Navy getting an anchor tattooed on them that was supposed to signify that you were the captain, you were in charge. Asymmetry is also something I like. I couldn’t have one and not have the other, so I chose the anchor for that reason.”
Clark is set to face Stephanie Egger at UFC Vegas 48 this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
