[ Cody Garbrandt isn’t too sold on UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley just yet. O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defeated ex-champ Petr Yan to become No. 1 contender, knocked out Aljamain Sterling to become champion, and battered Marlon Vera in his first title defense. However, Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) thinks there are a few … Read more
[ Tim Welch thinks Sean O’Malley’s power will surprise Merab Dvalishvili. Bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) is targeting Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for his next title defense – a matchup that his head coach Welch knows will be tough. Dvalishvili was rocked badly in his finish over Marlon Moraes at UFC 266, … Read more
[ Cory Sandhagen envisions UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley stopping Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) announced that he’d like to fight Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) next to prove to everyone that he isn’t ducking the streaking contender. Dvalishvili is a relentless grappler. He attempted a UFC record 49 takedowns in his win … Read more
[ ONE’s triple champion Anatoly Malykhin has a debt to pay to UFC title contender Merab Dvalishvili, and claims he’s taking care of it – slowly. A couple of years ago, Malykhin and Dvalishvili made a $50K bet on the UFC 273 bantamweight title rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Malykhin picked his fellow … Read more
[ UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has issued Merab Dvalishvili a warning – and is granting his wish. Initially calling out featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) announced that his next title defense will be against the streaking Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who’s been eager to fight him. O’Malley wants to … Read more
[ It looks like Sean O’Malley has warmed up to the idea of fighting Merab Dvalishvili, sort of. The UFC bantamweight champion took to X on Friday to say that he’s fighting Dvalishvili, who’s the clear No. 1 contender in the division. However, the champion mentioned 2025 as the year, which prompted a lot of … Read more
[ Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Umar Nurmagomedov deserves to be in the UFC bantamweight title picture just yet. Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) called for his previously scrapped booking with Cory Sandhagen to be rescheduled after defeating newcomer Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Fight Night 238 earlier this month. Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who’s a … Read more
[ Contrary to popular opinion, Robert Whittaker thinks UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley would be the one posing problems for Merab Dvalishvili. Whittaker was very impressed with O’Malley’s (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) performance against Marlon Vera (21-9-1 MMA, 15-8 UFC) Saturday at UFC 299, where he battered “Chito” for five rounds. “Mate, it was a … Read more
[ Share this article share tweet text email link on Facebook on Twitter via text message on LinkedIn via email https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/5-biggest-takeaways-from-ufc-299-time-for-sean-omalley-to-do-right-by-bantamweight-division March 10, 2024 6:30 pm ET What mattered most at UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami? Here are a few post-fight musings. * * * * 5 Is a Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis … Read more
[ Ilia Topuria is open to a future champion-vs-champion showdown with Sean O’Malley, but not just yet. After O’Malley (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defended his bantamweight title for the first time with a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera in Saturday’s UFC 299 headliner at Kaseya Center in Miami, he called out featherweight titleholder Topuria, … Read more
