[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] already has a slew of top bantamweight contenders wanting a piece of him after UFC 306.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his 135-pound title to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s Noche UFC main event at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Following his title loss, O’Malley was immediately mocked by [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who previously said he’d stick around at bantamweight to fight O’Malley.
“Hey O’Methyl…You wanted to be the next Conor McGregor-well now you are. Neither of you bums can defend a takedown. I’m teaching ‘Wrestling for Cokeheads’ at 8 AM. See you in the morning. @SugaSeanMMA.”
https://twitter.com/HenryCejudo/status/1835199622303666473
Also taking a shot at O’Malley is former champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who lost a controversial decision to “The Suga Show” in October 2022.
“I never considered Sean a real champion because he was gifted decision against me in Abu Dhabi. Rematch season is open, so see you soon
.”
https://twitter.com/PetrYanUFC/status/1835214318587228301
[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag]’s approach was a more respectful one, urging O’Malley to give the fans a striker’s delight matchup. Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is coming off a main event loss to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC on ABC 7 in August.
“Watching Merab win the title ⏩️ realizing you get Sandman v Suga because of it
.
Congrats, Merab. You earned it, man. O’Malley, time to give the people what they want. I don’t promise to not kiss you.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_9UdJSJ2Ul/?img_index=1
O’Malley seemed to take his loss in stride, posting a video of him working on his takedown defense on his Instagram. O’Malley was taken down six times by Dvalishvili and controlled for 10 minutes.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_7dwSGxkXz/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=012da435-4b90-4b52-9371-e83d30a962af
[lawrence-related id=2771797,2771790,2771717,2769586]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.