Tag: Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley says Merab Dvalishvili will not be able to wrestle: ‘I can knock anybody out’

Sean O’Malley says Merab Dvalishvili will not be able to wrestle: 'I can knock anybody out'Ahead of his undisputed bantamweight title fight against number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC next month, divisional…

Sean O’Malley says Merab Dvalishvili will not be able to wrestle: 'I can knock anybody out'

Ahead of his undisputed bantamweight title fight against number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC next month, divisional champion, Sean O’Malley has his doubts that the Georgian will be able to impose his wrestling-heavy tactics against him — warning the challenger he has the ability to knock anybody out.

O’Malley, the current undisputed bantamweight champion, looks to defend his divisional crown next month for the second time, following a prior unanimous decision shutout win against Marlon Vera back in March in the main event of UFC 299.

suga sean

As for Dvalishvili, the Tbilisi native featured most recently on the main card of UFC 298 back in February against former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo, landing a one-sided unanimous judging win over the Olympic gold medal winner.

Sean O’Malley predicts knockout win over Merab Dvalishvili

Sharing a distinct rivalry with Dvalishvili — who suffered a nasty laceration over his eye ahead of his fight with the Montana striker next month, O’Malley — who urged him not to withdraw from the Las Vegas Sphere card, vowed to knock him out if he tried to wrestle him as with prior opposition.

Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Sphere

“Styles — I know I can knock anybody out,” Sean O’Malley told ESPN during a recent interview. “I just believe he (Merab Dvalishvili) is going to. It only takes one mistake. Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) made a mistake, got his lights put out. Chito (Marlon Vera), wasn’t able to put his lights out, very, very tough dude, but I was able to find his chin quite a bit.

“I believe if I find Merab’s chin the way I was finding Chito’s, the way I found Aljo’s chin, I’m going to get him out of there,” Sean O’Malley continued.

Sean O'Malley

Winning his crown back in August of last year, O’Malley felled Dvalishvili’s close friend and training partner, Aljamain Sterling with a stunning second round knockout win in Boston, Massachusetts.

Former UFC Champ Backs Dana White On Merab Dvalishvili Revealing His Cut Ahead Of Sean O’Malley Fight: ‘Not Everything Needs To Go On Social Media!’

In arguably the biggest fight of his career, Merab Dvalishvili will challenge Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight championship. The bout will headline the Riyadh Season Noche UFC event at the Las Vegas Sphere on September 14, 2024. While O’Malley avenged his only MMA loss to Marlon Vera in his first title defense, Dvalishvili is […]

Continue Reading Former UFC Champ Backs Dana White On Merab Dvalishvili Revealing His Cut Ahead Of Sean O’Malley Fight: ‘Not Everything Needs To Go On Social Media!’ at MMA News.

In arguably the biggest fight of his career, Merab Dvalishvili will challenge Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight championship. The bout will headline the Riyadh Season Noche UFC event at the Las Vegas Sphere on September 14, 2024.

While O’Malley avenged his only MMA loss to Marlon Vera in his first title defense, Dvalishvili is riding a 10-fight win streak in the UFC. The contender holds wins over big names like Marlon Moraes, José Aldo, and Petr Yan. This explains the hype behind the bantamweight title bout.

However, the main event was temporarily in jeopardy as Dvalishvili revealed a cut under his eye. UFC President Dana White wasn’t happy about the situation, and Michael Bisping couldn’t agree more…

Michael Bisping Explains Why Merab Dvalishvili Shouldn’t Have Posted His Cut Before Sean O’Malley Fight

Bisping discussed Dvalishvili’s injury on his official YouTube channel recently. He highlighted that fighters now usually post most of their life on social media to increase engagement with fans. Naturally, this wasn’t the case a couple of decades back, and being silent about injuries during camps was preferred.

“Dana’s right when he talks about boxers. Of course, he’s probably talking about the boxers of his generation. Dana knows a lot about boxing as well as mixed martial arts of course. Back in the day, social media wasn’t a thing. The new generation, though, they live on social media. Your entire life is on social media”

The former UFC middleweight champ then explained why White was right in being upset with Dvalishvili’s behavior. For starters, a crisp striker like “Suga” can easily target the cut and make “The Machine” bleed early on in the fight.

“I tell you what, if I was fighting for a main event against Sean O’Malley to become the UFC champion of the world, and I got cut, I would not post it on social media. I’m not talking s**t on Merab. I think Merab is awesome, he’s a great guy, he’s an incredible fighter. The performance against Cejudo solidified that he is the next man in line, but not everything needs to go on social media!”

Bisping also looked back at major injuries he sustained before some of his biggest UFC fights. He had stitches near his eye before the first fight with Luke Rockhold and infamously broke his ribs a week before the Georges St-Pierre fight. “The Count” kept these injuries secret and expects modern-day UFC fighters to follow suit.

Continue Reading Former UFC Champ Backs Dana White On Merab Dvalishvili Revealing His Cut Ahead Of Sean O’Malley Fight: ‘Not Everything Needs To Go On Social Media!’ at MMA News.

Merab Dvalishvili will not be pulling out from Noche UFC due to cut: ‘You guys are weak’

Merab Dvalishvili Will Not Be Pulling Out From UFC 306 Due to Cut: "You guys are WEAK"Surging bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has claimed he will not be withdrawing from his scheduled Noche UFC title grudge…

Merab Dvalishvili Will Not Be Pulling Out From UFC 306 Due to Cut: "You guys are WEAK"

Surging bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has claimed he will not be withdrawing from his scheduled Noche UFC title grudge match with undisputed champion, Sean O’Malley next month – despite providing footage of himself getting a nasty laceration stitched overnight.

Dvalishvili, the current number one ranked bantamweight contender, most recently featured at UFC 298 earlier this year in February, landing a unanimous decision win over former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo in the pair’s title-eliminator.

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As for Montana striker, O’Malley, the bantamweight kingpin headlined UFC 299 the following month, avenging his sole promotional defeat in a unanimous decision shutout win over former opponent, Marlon Vera.

And slated to headline next month’s Las Vegas Sphere card at Noche UFC, Georgia native, Merab Dvalishvili appeared to have thrown his fight with the champion in severe jeopardy – suffering a sizeable laceration over his eyebrow, posting footage of him at a medical center getting it attended to.

Merab Dvalishvili set to serve as backup to UFC 299 title fight main event already cutting weight
Mandatory Credit: Media News Group – Los Angles Daily News

Reacting to the footage, UFC CEO, Dana White ripped Dvalishvili for exposing the injury, before insisting he would not be seeking a replacement for the Tbilisi grappler.

Merab Dvalishvili plans to remain on Noche UFC card

“The whole world knows about Merab’s (Dvalishvili) cut, he posted it, “Dana White said after the Contender Series. “Our guys are so dumb, it’s never-level unbelievable. All the stuff I talk about boxing, what I will give boxing (credit), when something happens in a camp, let me tell you what, it does not leak. Our guys can’t f*cking wait to throw it up on social media. It’s a small cut. It’s not a big deal, but obviously needed to be posted.”

Merab Dvalishvili Killed Myself Lost Petr Yan UFC
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy – USA TODAY Sports

However, Dvalishvili warned O’Malley that he would not withdraw from Noche UFC – insisting his foe is “weak”.

“Sean O’Malley, you are in big trouble, my friend,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “This is my third training session today. I’m here in the gym 24/7 guys. You think this little cut’s gonna stop me? I don’t understand. I guess you guys are weak and you guys are making excuses.”

Merab Dvalishvili Suffers Cut in Training – Insulted by Dana White and Sean O’Malley

Merab Dvalishvili Suffers Cut in Training - Insulted by Dana White and Sean O’MalleyMerab Dvalishvili isn’t going to let a little cut keep him from his first shot at UFC gold. On…

Merab Dvalishvili Suffers Cut in Training - Insulted by Dana White and Sean O’Malley

Merab Dvalishvili isn’t going to let a little cut keep him from his first shot at UFC gold.

On September 14, ‘The Machine’ will step into the main event spotlight at UFC 306 when the promotion makes its highly anticipated debut at Sphere in Las Vegas. There, Dvalishvili will meet reigning bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley in one of the most anticipated matchups in 135-pound history.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley

Recently, Dvalishvili had fight fans in a frenzy after revealing that he had sustained a cut while training. Having flashbacks to Charles Oliveira’s withdrawal from a scheduled rematch with Islam Makhachev last year, speculation quickly ran rampant that the Noche UFC headliner could see a significant shake-up.

“This little f*ckin rat better not pull out I swear to god,” O’Malley wrote on X in response to the news.

Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley

Dvalishvili was quick to quell any rumors of his withdrawal while responding to ‘Sugar’ on social media.

“Calm down – it’s all good – just a little training injury,” Dvalishvili replied on Instagram. “Never pulled out of a fight – and never will! I’m coming for you O’Malley – stronger than ever. Vamos!”

‘The Machine’ also posted a video while putting in work at the gym, making it clear that he’s coming for the bantamweight crown and no cut is going to stop that.

Dana White frustrated by Merab Dvalishvili’s decision to disclose cut

Addressing the media following Tuesday’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC CEO was asked about Dvalishvili’s reveal. Clearly frustrated, White launched a fiery response and slammed the Georgian’s decision to tell the entire world about the cut.

“The whole world knows about Merab’s cut, he posted it. Our guys are so dumb, it’s next-level unbelievable,” White said of Dvalishvili. “All the stuff that I talk about boxing, what I will give boxing, is when something happens in the camp, man, let me tell you what, it does not leak. And our guys can’t f*cking wait to put it up on social media…

“It’s a small cut, no big deal, but obviously needed to be posted” (h/t BJPenn.com).

When one reporter suggested that O’Malley could exploit Dvalishvili’s wound, White added:

“And why the f*ck would you want him to know that? It is next-level stupid, some of these guys are so stupid it’s…mind-boggling, it’s unbelievable.”

What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14

UFC 305 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering. The promotion was in Perth, Australia, last week, where the RAC Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit Down Under. Of note were victories for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du […]

Continue Reading What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14 at MMA News.

UFC 305 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering.

The promotion was in Perth, Australia, last week, where the RAC Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit Down Under. Of note were victories for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis, former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France, and lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker.

While the aftermath of the August 17 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the middleweight title picture to the bantamweight and women’s flyweight championship conversations.

At Noche UFC (UFC 306), an event set to celebrate Mexican Independance Day inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 14, reigning 135-pound kingpin Sean O’Malley will compete for the second time this year. After defeating Marlon Vera, “Sugar” will make his second defense of the gold in a long-awaited grudge match against top contender Merab Dvalishvili.

There will also be title stakes in the co-headliner, as flyweight queen Alexa Grasso completes her trilogy with the legendary Valentina Shevchenko. The pair previously fought to a draw at the first installment of Noche UFC last September and have since coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter.

Ortega & Lopes Among Those Setting The Stage For Title Headliners At UFC 30

Before O’Malley defends his championship and the promotion’s top female flyweights run it back again, a mix of veterans and prospects will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their positions on the major card.

That includes former two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega and the up-and-coming Diego Lopes, who will give their matchup a second chance at making it to the Octagon. After a same-day withdrawal from “T-City” saw the Mexico-residing Brazilian face and defeat Dan Ige at International Fight Week instead, Lopes will have the opportunity to crack the top five in rearranged clash with Ortega.

Prior to that, highly touted Mexican prospects Daniel Zellhuber and Ronaldo Rodriguez will open the main card against Esteban Ribovics and Ode’ Osbourne, respectively, while notable names like Irena Aldana and Raul Rosas Jr. will feature on the prelims.

See below for the full UFC 306 card, as it stands.

Main Card:

  • Sean O’Malley (C) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight championship main event)
  • Alexa Grasso (C) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (flyweight championship co-main event)
  • Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes (featherweight)
  • Daniel Zellhuber vs. Estaban Ribovics (lightweight)
  • Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode’ Osbourne (flyweight)

Preliminary Card:

  • Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (lightweight)
  • Irena Aldana vs. Norma Dumont (women’s bantamweight)
  • Edgar Cháirez vs. Kevin Borjas (flyweight)
  • Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza (women’s strawweight)
  • Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng (bantamweight)
Diego Lopes
Image: UFC.com

Continue Reading What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14 at MMA News.

What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14

UFC 305 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering. The promotion was in Perth, Australia, last week, where the RAC Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit Down Under. Of note were victories for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du […]

Continue Reading What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14 at MMA News.

UFC 305 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering.

The promotion was in Perth, Australia, last week, where the RAC Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit Down Under. Of note were victories for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis, former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France, and lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker.

While the aftermath of the August 17 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the middleweight title picture to the bantamweight and women’s flyweight championship conversations.

At Noche UFC (UFC 306), an event set to celebrate Mexican Independance Day inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 14, reigning 135-pound kingpin Sean O’Malley will compete for the second time this year. After defeating Marlon Vera, “Sugar” will make his second defense of the gold in a long-awaited grudge match against top contender Merab Dvalishvili.

There will also be title stakes in the co-headliner, as flyweight queen Alexa Grasso completes her trilogy with the legendary Valentina Shevchenko. The pair previously fought to a draw at the first installment of Noche UFC last September and have since coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter.

Ortega & Lopes Among Those Setting The Stage For Title Headliners At UFC 30

Before O’Malley defends his championship and the promotion’s top female flyweights run it back again, a mix of veterans and prospects will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their positions on the major card.

That includes former two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega and the up-and-coming Diego Lopes, who will give their matchup a second chance at making it to the Octagon. After a same-day withdrawal from “T-City” saw the Mexico-residing Brazilian face and defeat Dan Ige at International Fight Week instead, Lopes will have the opportunity to crack the top five in rearranged clash with Ortega.

Prior to that, highly touted Mexican prospects Daniel Zellhuber and Ronaldo Rodriguez will open the main card against Esteban Ribovics and Ode’ Osbourne, respectively, while notable names like Irena Aldana and Raul Rosas Jr. will feature on the prelims.

See below for the full UFC 306 card, as it stands.

Main Card:

  • Sean O’Malley (C) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight championship main event)
  • Alexa Grasso (C) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (flyweight championship co-main event)
  • Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes (featherweight)
  • Daniel Zellhuber vs. Estaban Ribovics (lightweight)
  • Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode’ Osbourne (flyweight)

Preliminary Card:

  • Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (lightweight)
  • Irena Aldana vs. Norma Dumont (women’s bantamweight)
  • Edgar Cháirez vs. Kevin Borjas (flyweight)
  • Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza (women’s strawweight)
  • Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng (bantamweight)
Diego Lopes
Image: UFC.com

Continue Reading What’s Next After UFC 305? Full Confirmed Noche UFC Main Card For The Sphere On September 14 at MMA News.