Dana White had no idea that Sean O’Malley was going into his second bantamweight title defense with an injury.
Set to headline one of the biggest combat sports events of all time, ‘Sugar’ was tasked with taking out top-raked contender Merab Dvalishvili in the Noche UFC headliner at Sphere in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for O’Malley and his fans, the Helena, Montana native came up short after offering up a lackluster 25-minute performance that saw him fall short on all three judge’s scorecards.
Addressing O’Malley’s performance following the latest edition of DWCS, White revealed that multiple people reached out to him voicing their concern over the former champ’s uninspired showing.
“Literally everybody reached out to me that night and said Sean O’Malley didn’t look like himself,” White told reporters following Tuesday’s Contender Series card at The APEX. “He didn’t look explosive, he didn’t look, you know, all the same stuff we were all saying that night. Not to take anything from Merab, but I mean everybody felt that way.”
Dana White believes that Sean O’Malley had an off-night against Merab:
“Literally everybody reached out to me that night and said Sean O’Malley didn’t look like himself… Not to take anything from Merab, but I mean everybody felt that way.”#UFC #MMA #NocheUFC pic.twitter.com/WzSxGXxgxQ
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 18, 2024
As it turns out, O’Malley went into the bout with a torn labrum—an injury he sustained 10 weeks before fight night. ‘Sugar’ revealed that he will undergo surgery on October 3.
Asked how the UFC could potentially prevent fighters from competing while injured in the future, White said:
“If these guys come in and they have something that we don’t know, I mean, how would the doctors check for a torn labrum? You know what I mean? You can’t.”
Dana White reacts to Sean O'Malley's surgery news after #UFC306.
"How would the doctors check for a torn labrum? You can't." pic.twitter.com/k7M5ODUKJV
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 18, 2024
O’Malley will likely be shelved for the next 9-12 months, giving him plenty of time to heal up before making a run at reclaiming the 135-pound title.
Dana White Confirms Jake Paul is Not Banned From UFC Events
One of the more interesting things to come out of Noche UFC—aside from two new world champions and one of the most horrific cuts fight fans have ever seen—was Jake Paul’s apparent infiltration into the technologically advanced venue despite being “banned” from UFC events.
Shortly after the event, ‘The Problem Child’ posted a video on social media detailing how he managed to sneak into the event looking like a stereotypical biker with long hair, a bushy beard, and aviator sunglasses.
It was a clever ruse, albeit an unnecessary one according to White who revealed that nobody, including Jake Paul, is banned from attending UFC events. Well, almost nobody.
“Oscar De La Hoya was there,” White said. “Let’s put it that way. Nobody is banned from the UFC. Listen, that kid knows how to market and do his thing and all that good sh*t. Jake Paul is welcome to come to UFC. He just can’t bring that… you know.”
Dana White reacts to Jake Paul sneaking into #NocheUFC with a costume on:
“Oscar De La Hoya was there… nobody’s banned from the UFC… Jake Paul’s welcome to come to UFC.”#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/pRUkB0X0So
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 18, 2024
The “you know” was a bit unclear, though White was likely speaking about Paul’s advisor and former UFC chief financial officer Nakisa Bidarian.
Bidarian was brought on by former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta as an executive in charge of strategy and business ventures in 2011. By the time he departed the promotion in 2016, he was the promotion’s CFO. Since then, he has gone into business with Paul, co-founding Most Valuable Promotions, and was subsequently caught in White’s crosshairs during Paul’s never-ending war of words against the UFC CEO.
Watch the full DWCS post-fight press event below:
