Random message could be life-changer for MMA fighter O'Sullivan

JOHNSON CITY — Most people have gotten an email or text message, discarded it and moved on with life. Fortunately, Dylan O'Sullivan took a message on Instagram seriously last October. It could be a life-changer. "It almost seemed like it was fake to me," said O'Sullivan, the owner and coach at Claddagh Combat Academy in Johnson City. "He only had 90 followers and it was three pictures of this Black Cup and it said you could win $250,000." It was real, indeed. A couple of days later, the 31-year-old O'Sullivan was flying to Los Angeles for some promotional work and traveled to South Korea in March as one of seven members of the TEAM USA Black Combat Mixed Martial Arts team, competing against Black Combat MMA fighters from across the world. "Our first round of the Black Cup was in March and we beat Team Korea," O'Sullivan said. "I lost my fight personally, but the cool thing about this, it is like a World Cup for MMA." TEAM USA will return to South Korea for the Black Cup semifinals on Aug. 29 against Japan. Win there, and the TEAM USA will complete for the Black Cup title against one of six other countries, with two of the teams represented by Korea. "It has just been awesome. A big goal of mine is to become a world champion," said O'Sullivan, a 2012 graduate and honor roll student at Science Hill, who also attended East Tennessee State. "The first step to that is fighting internationally...A big part of it for me was getting to travel. I got to go to South Korea, and I actually got to go to the North Korean border too. I went to the (Korean Demilitarized Zone). It was really, really cool." O'Sullivan, who opened the Claddagh Combat Academy in March of 2025, had spent the previous five years training at a large gym with well-known UFC fighters in Florida, in addition to a couple of months in Thailand. He felt a calling to return to Johnson City and open his facility on Hales Creek Road. "It has been doing well. I am still needing to market it and get the word out more because it is tough when you are balancing being a professional fighter yourself, coaching young up-and-coming fighters and building a business," he said. "It is all coming together and I have a very strong support team and great people around me that love this place as much as I do." With help from his uncle, Ray Jones, a former Irish runner for East Tennessee State, O'Sullivan turned an old barn into a gym complete with an MMA cage and plenty of training equipment. He currently has a membership of 45-50 ranging from 4 to 75, all of whom are seeking what MMA skills can provide. "I would say for me it is going to help you sharpen your mind, sharpen your body. You are going to get stronger mentally and physically," O'Sullivan said. "I think learning the discipline from all the martial arts is very important because if you don't have discipline in life you are not going to know what to do. "You are going to learn different mentalities, you are going to meet different people that work different jobs and then coming together and learning together...In these days you need to be able to protect yourself. Just having that awareness helps you be less frightened when you are out in society and the world." While O'Sullivan has sponsors who have assisted with him for years now, O'Sullivan is going to get a little help with a fundraiser dinner at By His Blood Ministries at 1104 Afton Street in Johnson City on Saturday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $100 a plate, which includes all-you-can-eat spaghetti, salad, bread and dessert. All proceeds will go to O'Sullivan to assist with his many expenses, from air fare to coaches, food, equipment, trainers and much more. That includes a planned trip to Kansas City later this month to work with a fellow TEAM USA member. "I think the support of a community is the biggest thing in life, whatever you are doing," O'Sullivan said. "When you have people that support you and stand by you, a bundle of sticks is always bigger than one trig on a branch. I just want to build the best I can, help promote my gym, help promote me as representing Team America and just get the word out there some more." Currently the 185-pound middleweight champion for Showcase MMA, a local organization, O'Sullivan — who has also competed in boxing, kick boxing and other combat sports — fought his first five fights in Johnson City before leaving for Florida. He is 6-3 as a professional MMA fighter, and has big goals ahead. "It is to be a world champion. I can become a world champion of Black Combat. Their biggest show in Korean MMA history was where there were over 10,000 fans at the fight," O'Sullivan said. "Team America, we are going to win the Black Cup. That won't make me the champion of their promotion, but that will put me a good lineup for next year to get toward fighting for the belt. "I would say if I win these next two fights in good fashion, I will probably be ranked in the top three inside their promotions so I will be right there in getting an opportunity for the title." O'Sullivan encourages anyone interested in helping with expenses or learning more about Claddagh Combat Academy to send an email to claddagh423@gmail.com or call (423) 557-6628.