NFL
By: Randall Gimm
Sean O’Malley is getting a second chance to fight Merab Dvalishvili for the Undisputed UFC Bantamweight (135lbs) Title, this Saturday June 7th in Newark New Jersey at the Prudential Center. Which will act as the Headliner of UFC 316.
The first time these fighters matched up, O’Malley lost to Dvalishvili via Unanimous Decision.
Looking back, I remember this fight being a mauling of O’Malley. Dvalishvili landed 6 of 15 take-downs (40%), hit him with 82 significant strikes, 45 of those were when O’Malley was on the ground.
But, that 5th round was the closest version of O’Malley that we are used to seeing. Every judge gave O’Malley that round. O’Malley had a great teep kick that hurt the body of Dvalishvili and had him looking at the clock.
After the fight, we learned O’Malley had a torn labrum in his hip which prevented him from grappling during fight camp and restricted his kicking ability. O’Malley’s kicks are what helps establish his range being taller than most bantamweights. He then uses his footwork and stance switching to meticulously find the range he wants to strike from.
That ability was unavailable to O’Malley with that torn labrum.
O’Malley was the reigning champion in that fight and considering the injury, it’s natural he would want to get healthy and give it another shot. He entered the fight with Aljamain Sterling injured and walked away with the belt. He believed he could do it again. But, Dvalisvili was able to pressure O’Malley, dismantle that range, and hit 6 take downs.
Since that first fight, O’Malley got that labrum repaired. And Dvalishvili fought Umar Nurmagomedov. Scorecards were almost unanimous with a 48-47 in Dvalishvili’s favor. Nurmagomedov hails from Dagestan under the coaching of one of the best in Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili was able to neutralize a member of one of the best wrestling-centric Mixed Martial Arts gyms in the world.
That proves that Dvalishvili’s wrestling and cardio is other-worldly. Making his 10-fight winning streak that much more impressive. With names like O’Malley, Nurmagomedov, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo, and Marlon Moraes, Dvalishvili has faced the who’s who of the division.
One fighter that neither O’Malley or Dvalishvili has fought is Cory Sandhagen.
Sandhagen would have been a logical next contender for the title with his only recent loss coming from the hands of Nurmagomedov. Sandhagen has been calling for a fight with O’Malley and has been motioning for the title since 2020 after his victory against Marlon Moraes.
But the UFC has made the call for O’Malley to get another shot at the title.
This week during media availability, O’Malley has shown a lack of interest displaying the ‘Suga’ persona he has created. Instead, he’s showing a larger desire to enter the cage and less interested in building up his follower count or sponsorship dollars. It’s this kind of O’Malley true fight fans want to see. Someone only interested in showing what they’re made of in the cage. Not on the internet.
I personally believe this will be the most dangerous version of O’Malley we will see. Someone who is not taking this second chance lightly.
Another thing to note, Dvalishvili is struggling to make 135 these days. During his interviews you can hear his lack of energy, his lips sticking together with the lack of water, and at the age of 34, cutting weight gets harder and harder. Just ask Jose Aldo after he missed weight just a couple of weeks ago.
Will that bad weight cut interfere with the freakish cardio of Dvalishvili? O’Malley said he has never felt better entering a fight. This could be the exact circumstances O’Malley needs to defeat Merab.
