Sean O’Malley has accepted that some UFC fans are frustrated by his upcoming title shot against Merab Dvalishvili, after he was easily dethroned by the Georgian in his last fight.
In September, Dvalishvili won a comfortable decision against “Sugar Sean” to win the men’s bantamweight belt, before retaining it in January with a narrow victory over Umar Nurmagomedov.
Now O’Malley gets his chance to regain the title, despite the one-sided nature of his first fight with Dvalishvili, and the fact that the American hasn’t competed since. The pair will clash in the main event of UFC 316, in New Jersey on 7 June.
“The rematch is official,” said O’Malley, 30, on his YouTube channel. “Sugar Sean vs Merab 2 is happening, and I don’t think people are going to be too happy about it.
“The last time I fought the best bantamweight in the world – the best bantamweight at the time [Aljamain Sterling] – I got the job done. I’m very confident in my skills.
“Last camp we had some s*** going on. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. We had a great camp, I showed up, I was in shape, we did what we could with what we were able to do. This camp has already been a lot different, and I’m feeling good. I’m excited to go out there and take care of business.
“Last fight camp, every single journal entry was like, ‘My groin kept me up at night,’ because I tore my labrum 10 weeks before the fight. I tore my groin labrum, and I was having serious groin pain. It was super... it wasn’t ideal.”
O’Malley has since undergone surgery, although on his hip, in pursuit of a better performance next time out.
“I was able to train, I was able to tough through it, but obviously it’s not ideal to go into a fight – especially against a f***ing murderer,” O’Malley said. “Well, not a murderer, but a stud, an absolute machine.
“If I can just keep this pace up – how we’ve been able to train the last few weeks – all the way up to the fight, I’m going to be 70 per cent better than I was in that first fight. I’m going to be significantly more mobile, agile, better shape. I’m going to fight at my full potential, whereas my last fight, I was very happy with how I was able to perform considering how I felt.
“It wasn’t ideal, the outcome; I didn’t win, but I also think I wasn’t supposed to win. This rematch was supposed to happen. It’s going to make this win that much more crazy.”
Dvalishvili, 34, will enter UFC 316 on a 12-fight win streak. He has secured 11 of those victories via decision, but while he tends to lack finishing ability, his relentless grappling has proven a puzzle that no fighter has been able to solve in seven years – not even four former champions.
O’Malley, in contrast, is known for his precision striking. As such, his rematch with Dvalishvili – much like their first fight – will be a classic striker vs grappler match-up.
The co-main event of UFC 316 will be another bantamweight title fight, as Julianna Pena defends the women’s version of the belt against Kayla Harrison.
Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili 2 tops UFC 316 with women’s title fight in co-main event
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