It’s all respect between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili ahead of their rumored title-fight rematch.
Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) dethroned O’Malley at UFC 306 to become bantamweight champion. He has since handed Umar Nurmagomedov his first-career loss for a successful title defense at UFC 311 in January.
UFC CEO Dana White hinted at a Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley rematch next. The pair recently ran into each other at the UFC Performance Institute, with O’Malley admitting he was impressed by Dvalishvili’s performance against Nurmagomedov.
“Your last fight was impressive, you looked good,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “That was a fun fight to watch. That was very fun.”
Dvalishvili reciprocated the respect toward O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who failed to get any significant offense going in their fight – outside of a late body kick in Round 5 that certainly caught the champion’s attention.
“I respect you, man, as a fighter,” Dvalishvili said. “When we’re going to fight, I know you hit hard, and I know you’re going to change your plan.”
After losing to Dvalishvili, O’Malley underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, an injury he was dealing with going into the fight.
“I only had one hip last time,” O’Malley responded. “I’ve got both hips now.”
Dvalishvili landed six takedowns and had more than 10 minutes of control time in his unanimous decision win over O’Malley. “The Machine” says he plans on showing off his hands in their rematch, which O’Malley laughed off.
“Now I’m going to use my striking,” Dvalishvili said. “You think no? You think I’m not? Bro, you see me fight with Umar? I was striking.”
All signs are pointing to a title-fight rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley, but a date and location is yet to be determined.
