Tag: Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley reacts to Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov UFC 311 title fight

Sean O’Malley was a little surprised to see Merab Dvalishvili booked vs. Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] was a little surprised to see [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] booked vs. [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] at UFC 311.

Bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defends his title against Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the Jan. 18 co-main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

After Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September, he refused to acknowledge Nurmagomedov as No. 1 contender. He was even willing to grant O’Malley a rematch so, O’Malley was surprised to see Nurmagomedov get his wish with UFC 311 approaching so soon.

“Dude, that’s next month,” O’Malley said of Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov on his “TimboSugaShow” podcast. “That’s like 30 days away, and there’s like two title fights (that) get announced, which they may have known about them further out.

“But, it seems like the Merab vs. Umar, like no one really knew. Umar was going to fight in December, Merab wanted to fight in March and it was like, I might fight (Dvalishvili) in April, which is all in my head.”

O’Malley sees a potential fight with Nurmagomedov being massive, but would also love to avenge his loss to Dvalishvili – a fight he thinks is much closer than people give him credit for.

“I want Merab to win because I want that one back,” O’Malley said. “I want the rematch. I want that one back. That’s what I want. But if Umar wins, that’s a big fight, too.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.

Overreaction Time: Alexandre Pantoja and Shavkat Rakhmonov elite? Colby Covington in danger, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” on what happened at UFC 310 and what’s to come at UFC 311, UFC 312 and UFC Tampa.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • UFC 310: [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] will STILL be flyweight champion at the end of 2025.
  • UFC 310: [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]’s title reign is up next.
  • Shavkat Rakhmonov and [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] WILL meet again for the UFC welterweight title.
  • UFC 311: [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] SHOULD BE the main event over [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag].
  • UFC 311: Umar being favored over Merab is NUTS!
  • UFC 312: [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] getting a title shot over [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] is BULLSH*T.
  • A [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] rematch is a GREAT idea.
  • UFC Tampa: [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] won’t just beat [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], he’ll knock him out!

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Petr Yan wants Sean O’Malley rematch if he doesn’t get title shot; O’Malley responds

If not a UFC title shot next, Petr Yan would like to avenge one of his most heartbreaking losses vs. Sean O’Malley.

If he’s not granted a title shot next, [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] would like to avenge one of his most notable losses.

Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) picked up his second-straight win when he earned a unanimous decision over former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in the UFC Fight Night 248 headliner in November.

UFC bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili was impressed with Yan’s performance, and called for a title defense against him next. However, if UFC opts to give Umar Nurmagomedov the next shot, as is expected, then Yan is interested in running things back with former champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag], who beat him by controversial split decision in their Fight of the Night battle at UFC 280 in October 2022.

“You know, if (Nurmagomedov title shot) is going to happen, I would lean towards a rematch with Sean O’Malley, but I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Yan told “The Ariel Helwani Show” through an interpreter on Tuesday. “He’s out for nine to 12 months, so maybe he got pregnant.”

After losing the 135-pound strap to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September, O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip. If Yan the rematch goes happen, he hopes to get two extra rounds scheduled compared to last time, so he can leave no doubt.

“I really want five rounds,” Yan said. “I believe it should be a good main event or a featured bout on some big event. I think five rounds and it will be very interesting if it’s going to happen.

O’Malley took to social media following Yan’s comments to dismiss his wish, but gave a potential timeline update on his return, with expectations of a title shot (via X):

“I predict it will be early Q2. Against Merab. Thanks for asking.”

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Sean O’Malley, Tim Welch put UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili on blast for wanting Petr Yan next

Sean O’Malley doubles down on his accusation of UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili being afraid of Umar Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] has doubled down on his accusation of UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] being afraid of [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

After [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Deiveison Figueiredo in a Fight of the Night battle in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 248 headliner in Macau, his callout was accepted by Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who lauded him for his performance. That set off Nurmagomedov, who, unlike Yan, would present a fresh challenge to Dvalishvili. “The Machine” already defeated Yan by lopsided decision in their March 2023 main event.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January,” O’Malley said on his “TimboSugaShow” podcast. “Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April. Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

O’Malley lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili this past September at UFC 306. His head coach, Tim Welch, thinks Dvalishvili as champion is not good for the bantamweight division.

“Think of how exciting and lit the division would be if Merab wasn’t a part of it,” Welch said. “That’s no disrespect. The guy is really good at getting in those positions and getting through the fight. But, man, it would be lit. But the dude’s a serious problem.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 248.

After UFC 308, Tim Welch still believes Sean O’Malley would give Ilia Topuria problems

Tim Welch’s opinion on Sean O’Malley being a tough stylistic matchup for Ilia Topuria hasn’t changed after UFC 308.

[autotag]Tim Welch[/autotag]’s opinion of [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] being a tough stylistic matchup for featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] hasn’t changed after UFC 308.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) capped off a banner 2024 by knocking out another divisional great in Max Holloway this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Prior to UFC 308, Welch said he sees “flat-footed” Topuria as a more favorable matchup for O’Malley than Holloway. O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has since lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, but Welch still thinks a fight with Topuria could happen someday.

“I don’t think it’s past,” Welch told Submission Radio. “I mean, you never know what’s going to happen in the UFC. It’s not impossible that Volkanovski goes out there and beats Ilia Topuria. I mean, that’s possible. So, you never know, and I do think stylistically, Sean could give Ilia problems. He really could, but Ilia Topuria is a very, very scary fight.

“That’s not a fight you go in there and be like, ‘Oh yeah, man, we’re going to go out,’ – it’s like, you make one mistake with Ilia Topuria, and you’re going to be lights out, looking up at the ceiling or whatever. But that’s a scary, scary fight. But I do believe that Sean, with his range and with his speed and with just his overall skill set, he could give Ilia problems. I do believe that.”

After losing his title to Dvalishvili, O’Malley underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip – an injury he came into the fight with. Dvalishvili appears willing to grant O’Malley an immediate rematch, and if the pair do run things back, Welch is confident that “The Suga Show” would get the finish.

“A healthy Sean, I do believe we go out there and end up KO’ing Merab in between some sort of scramble or something,” Welch said. “On the in-betweens, I think Sean will be able to catch his chin and put him down.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Sean O’Malley dubs Ilia Topuria ‘a little f*cking Alex Pereira’ after knockout of Max Holloway at UFC 308

Sean O’Malley was in awe of Ilia Topuria’s power at UFC 308.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] was in awe of [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s power at UFC 308.

Featherweight champion Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in Saturday’s main event in Abu Dhabi. During a watch-along on his YouTube channel, O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) gave a live reaction to Topuria’s devastating knockout.

“God, Ilia’s a f*cking finisher though, huh? He’ll jump on you,” O’Malley said. “I think Ilia might have took that Round (1) just because he took his back at the end, but that was a super close round. … Ilia’s so dangerous until the last bell.”

O’Malley scored Round 2 for Holloway, but after Topuria tagged him with a left hook to finish the fight in Round 3, he couldn’t help but praise “El Matador,” whom he was previously angling to fight. O’Malley compared Topuria’s finishing abilities to UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag], who has knocked out his past four opponents in a row.

“Ilia just hurt Max bad,” O’Malley reacted. “Ilia lands a bomb, and Max is still stunned. He’s playing it off good. Oh, left hook! Ilia finishes Max Holloway with a left hook in Round 3. Holy sh*t, Ilia is that guy. Wow.

“Who, at 145, wants to fight Ilia right now? Ilia’s just so dangerous the whole fight. He’s a like a little f*cking Alex Pereira. You can’t tell me Islam (Makhachev) vs. f*cking Ilia isn’t a fight you would want to see.”

O’Malley lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September. He underwent hip surgery after the fight and is targeting a return in the first half of 2025.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Watch Merab Dvalishvili lose it on UFC 308 fan who suggests he’s ducking Umar Nurmagomedov

New UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili isn’t keen on anyone who thinks he’s ducking contender Umar Nurmagomedov.

ABU DHABI – Think [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] is getting tired already of this [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] storyline?

Just a couple days after he told MMA Junkie there was method to his madness behind the idea that he could rematch former champ [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] next month, but not Nurmagomedov a month later, a fan put him on blast at a Q&A session ahead of Friday’s UFC 308 ceremonial weigh-ins in Abu Dhabi.

The fan wanted to know if new bantamweight titleholder Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who dominated O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 306 in September in September is ducking Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

And Dvalishvili makes his case pretty clear that not only does he think it makes sense to delay a Nurmagomedov fight – but that he might not even be the next worthy challenger, anyway.

Check out the tense exchange above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Why UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili is willing to fight Sean O’Malley in November but not Umar Nurmagomedov

UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili would prefer a full training camp to fight Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] would prefer a full training camp to fight [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) claimed the 135-pound title when he defeated [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September. No. 1 contender Nurmagomedov has been pestering him about a fight date, but Dvalishvili said he’s willing to fight him in March – when Nurmagomedov can’t compete due to Ramadan.

But what rubbed Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and many others wrong was Dvalishvili offering O’Malley a rematch in November. Dvalishvili explains the reasoning behind his callout.

“I already fought him, and it’s easy to come back because we’re both in the same situation,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie on rematching O’Malley. “We both fought on Sept. 14, and we would both step back on the same day. But when somebody else has been ready for me, preparing for me, that’s a different story.

“With O’Malley, it’s easy because we’re both in the same situation. That’s why I told him we could do a quick turnaround for November. That shouldn’t be a problem because I was ready to fight O’Malley or ‘Chito’ Vera three weeks after I beat Henry Cejudo, but to fight somebody new, somebody with a different style. Yeah, I need time. I need two or three months.”

Dvalishvili revealed that the UFC mentioned December for his first title defense against Nurmagomedov, but he told them it was too early. He’s willing to compromise and fight early next year but is a little bothered about the criticism – considering that he just became champion a little over a month ago.

“I think February I’ll be ready,” Dvalishvili said. “I would like to fight February, so that’s it, and I want to fight three times next year. I want to be busy, but I just became champion, and I don’t understand why they want me to – I just want to relax.”

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Overreaction Time: Jones vs. Ngannou WILL happen, UFC rankings useless, Sean O’Malley a fraud, more!

Check out the first episode of “Overreaction Time” as host Simon Samano and Farah Hannoun debate an array of topics in MMA.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the first episode of “Overreaction Time” as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Farah Hannoun debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • Make no mistake: [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] is the No. 1 heavyweight in the world.
  • Because the UFC can’t say no to money, we WILL get Francis Ngannou vs. [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] next year.
  • [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is the best UFC fight for the rest of the year.
  • The UFC should just get rid of the official rankings altogether.
  • [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] getting an immediate title rematch would be ridiculous.
  • Sean O’Malley was a fraudulent UFC champion.
  • [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] needs to keep [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s name out of his mouth.
  • The UFC would be foolish not to book [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] early next year.

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Umar Nurmagomedov rips ‘bum’ Sean O’Malley for UFC 306 performance: ‘Merab played with him’

Umar Nurmagomedov criticizes Sean O’Malley for not showing a sense of urgency in his loss to Merab Dvalishvili.

[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] criticizes [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] for not showing a sense of urgency in his UFC 306 loss to [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].

O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) dropped his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in the UFC 306 main event in September. O’Malley was out-grappled for the most part but was able to hurt Dvalishvili with a body kick at the end of the fight.

Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) thinks O’Malley didn’t give it his all – especially with his title on the line.

“He’s a bum, brother. He’s a bum,” Nurmagomedov told Submission Radio. “He didn’t do what he has to. He was running. I don’t know, like, if you’re champion, you can’t come inside the cage and fight like that. He got out this fight; he even didn’t tire. He left cage like fresh. What are you doing, man? You have to go ahead, do everything you can do to defend your title, but you were running, you were scared, and this guy played with you.

“He kissed you. He played. You remember when he didn’t wait until the round finished and he went out. You know, it means like, hey, I want to do whatever I want with you. Merab played with him, and I don’t know how he can talk after.”

With O’Malley angling for a rematch against Dvalishvili and Dvalishvili seemingly being open to it, Nurmagomedov won’t be fazed if that’s the direction the UFC opts to go. He’s willing to fight someone else to remain active.

“I won’t be surprised. I don’t care,” Nurmagomedov said. “They can do whatever they want, and I just have my goal. I can’t fight in March. If you see (them) booking this fight in March, OK. What we’re going to do, we’re going to be active, we’re going to be active. We’re going to take out other opponent, smash him and go ahead.”

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