Sean O'Malley has declined a rematch offer from newly minted bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, and suggested another name to fight in the meantime.
'Suga' has made headlines by reversing his stance on his title fight loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Both those in attendance and watching online witnessed a dominant performance from 'The Machine,' with media outlets unanimously scoring the fight in Dvalishvili's favor, most by four rounds to one.
Although O'Malley was initially gracious in defeat, he's since backtracked, now claiming he won the fight three rounds to two.
Round 5 I won .
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
I am the champ. God is good. 1,3,5 round I won.
Defending belt against Umar in Vegas June/July.
Dvalishvili wants to settle the debate and offered O'Malley an immediate rematch at UFC 309 on November 9. Despite the talk, O'Malley declined the rematch, citing a scheduled surgery, and proposed Dvalishvili take on Umar Nurmagomedov instead.
Getting surgery Oct 3rd. Fought you with one hip and still beat you. Round 1,3,5 . I’m the champ. Fight Umnar.
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 27, 2024
Whether Nurmagomedov or Dvalishvili, O'Malley will want to prepare his wrestling for his eventual return. Per the fight stats, Dvalishvili took O'Malley down six times in 15 attempts and controlled him for over ten minutes of the fight (two rounds). He also landed 310 strikes to O'Malley's 91.
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