Sean O’Malley, the former UFC bantamweight champ, is gearing up for a big rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025. After losing his title to Merab in September 2024, O’Malley is hungry to prove himself. He shared his thoughts on the Ariel Helwani Show, laying out why this fight means everything to him and how he’s turning a rough loss into a shot at redemption.
Lessons From the First Fight
“It wasn’t even I wanted the belt back, I wanted that fight back,” O’Malley said on the Ariel Helwani Show. “And yeah, there wasn’t much negotiation there [with UFC]. It was kinda like, ‘All right, let’s do it.’”
He didn’t have to push hard to get the UFC on board.
“I’m very grateful for the UFC for giving me the rematch,” O’Malley said. “I didn’t really have much conversation with UFC. I did tell them that was really the only fight I was interested in. I wanted the belt back—it wasn’t even I wanted the belt back, I wanted Merab. I wanted that fight back and there wasn’t much negotiation there. It was kind of like, alright, let’s do it.”
The first fight didn’t go his way.
“The first fight, the camp, the whole fight, didn’t go obviously as planned,” he continued. “But I feel like it’s gonna make this one that much sweeter. I’m gonna be a massive underdog. People aren’t going to expect what I know I’m capable of on June 7. So it’s gonna make it that much sweeter.”
He sees this as a chance to bounce back.
“There’s two ways you can go from taking a loss,” O’Malley said. “You can either go up or down and I wanted to go up.”
A Stronger Camp and a Bold Plan
He’s been here before with his first loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera in 2020, which he avenged in 2024.
“I had to wait three and a half years to prove that the first Chito fight wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out. This one, I don’t have to wait nearly as long, but I’m excited to go out there and do something similar in the rematch with Merab,” he said.
Last time, a torn labrum threw off his prep.
“Just this morning practice, I grappled more today than I grappled in the last fight camp for Merab,” he revealed. “We did seven 6-minute rounds today grappling hard, hard, hard, picking the hardest guys, just straight grappling today. And I wasn’t able to do that once last camp. A torn labrum, everyone feels tear in their labrum different. There’s different levels of tears. That last camp was not a great camp.”
His wrestling suffered too.
“I know I could wrestle better than I showed in that last fight, which was borderline embarrassing, what I was able to do,” he admitted.
Merab’s a tough nut to crack, and O’Malley gets that.
“Merab’s tough, Merab’s good,” O’Malley said. “Merab’s probably considered the greatest bantamweight of all time as of right now. So I’m gonna go out there, knock him out.”
He’s got a sharp word for doubters.
“Don’t watch,” O’Malley said. “Saturday night, June 7, f*cking watch your reality TV show. Don’t watch the fight.”
He’s betting on himself to turn heads and take back his spot at the top.
