Sean O’Malley still has hopes that he can beat Merab Dvalishvili in a potential trilogy bout. For now, O’Malley is scheduled to fight Song Yadong next year at UFC 324, and Dvalishvili will run it back with Petr Yan this weekend at UFC 323.
‘Suga’ lost his bantamweight championship to ‘The Machine’ in 2024. The two ran it back earlier this year at UFC 316. For the title rematch, although O’Malley worked on his takedown defense, it was still not enough. Dvalishvili forced the tap from O’Malley in Round 3 by submitting him with a north-south choke.
O’Malley recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and spoke about his career goals. He also said that a third fight with Merab Dvalishvili “makes sense,” as he believes they are still 1-1.
“Winning the belt again sounds fun. Merab’s obviously there at the top. We’re 1-1, so a trilogy makes sense… I want big fights… if the title is on the line, that just adds more to it. I could be a Three-round champ. Maybe if Merab wins, he’s the Five-round champ, I’m the Three-round champ. That sounds sick to me.”
Check out Sean O’Malley‘s comments below:
O’Malley feels he can be a “three-round champ,” and Merab Dvalishvili can be a “five-round champ.” This is him commending the Georgian’s endless cardio and not getting weary at all, whereas ‘Suga’ believes he fights better in three-rounders.
O’Malley also recently stated that for his upcoming bout, he proposed a two-round bout of three minutes each, which was rejected.
Sean O’Malley breaks down UFC 323: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan 2
Sean O’Malley also gave his assessment of the UFC 323 headliner in which Merab Dvalishvili will run it back with Petr Yan. O’Malley highlighted that Dvalishvili is gaining more confidence in his striking, as shown in his last few outings.
‘Suga’ thinks the only way Yan can win is if the champion gets too confident in his striking and ‘No Mercy’ manages to catch him off guard.
“The only way I see Yan beating him is if Merab gets too confident in his hands…. Petr is someone you gotta be careful with, keeping your chin up, because he’ll capitalize. He’s got such good counters, he’s fast, he’ll sit in the pocket, he’ll trade. But Merab, I think his fight IQ is smarter than his regular IQ.”
Check out Sean O’Malley’s comments below:
In contrast, ‘The Machine’ stated in a recent interview with ESPN MMA that he intends to secure a KO or a TKO against Yan this weekend.