- Sean O’Malley opened up about his title fight loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306
- “Suga” thinks he’ll be resting for about a year
Sean O’Malley blames nothing about his tough title fight loss to Merab Dvalishvili and would like to have a long rest before returning.
‘Zero excuses’
O’Malley addressed his UFC 306 loss in his official YouTube channel and made it clear to everybody that nothing went wrong in his training camp, let alone in the actual fight. According to “Suga,” he just flat-out lost to “The Machine” fair and square.
“It was a great fight week, best weight cut, felt good, no excuses, my Mom too, she was like ‘You just weren’t the same, what was wrong?’ and I’m like, ‘Nothing’, I just got beat, there was nothing. Everyone’s keep asking me like, ‘What was wrong? Something seemed off, something’s different. You’re flat-footed.’ I was like, ‘There was nothing. zero excuses,” O’Malley pointed out.
“I felt like I got out strengthed. Like, I knew what to do in certain positions. I just felt like he was just stronger,” O’Malley said. “I didn’t feel too out skilled, out speed. I felt cardio was good.” “He’s on an 11-fight win streak. His last four fights were former champions. The dude is f**king good. Super skilled,” O’Malley continued. “I know I can beat him… He beat me on the day that mattered, so that’s the one that matters. It is what it is.”
Sean is still sad, though
Despite accepting his defeat, O’Malley admitted that losing his belt still “stings.” In a short clip for his fans, the now former UFC bantamweight champ opened up about being “sad” but at the same time, staying positive.
“Woke up today and I’m still sad, Still a little bit sad. but you know what, time heals… It’s all about perspective, life’s still good. Definitely f**king stings,” O’Malley said.
Sean O'Malley admits that he's still sad following his loss to Merab Dvalishvili ☹️
"Woke up today and I'm still sad… but you know what, time heals… It's all about perspective, life's still good. Definitely f***ing stings."
🎥 @SugaSeanMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/EwoX8Y6qhy
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 16, 2024
A long break
At this point, O’Malley is not thinking about anything else. Though he is hoping to bounce back stronger and possibly do a rematch with Dvalishvili, “Suga” pointed out that his main concern is to be as healthy as possible and it might take about a year to do so.
“I probably won’t fight for 9 months, 10 months, maybe a year. Like, it’s gonna be a while, people are gonna have to watch the UFC without the Suga show for a little bit,” O’Malley revealed.
“It’s going to feel good to take a legit break to get fully healthy… I gotta get healthy and that’s it… I probably won’t fight till June or July next year,” he added.
The loss to Dvalishvili not only saw O’Malley losing his bantamweight title but also marked his first official defeat since 2020. On the other hand, the newly crowned bantamweight champ appears to be enjoying his victory.
Watch O’Malley’s full video below:
