Amid hypothesis linking him to a featherweight title siege off the again of his one-sided victory over Marlon Vera earlier this month to defend his bantamweight crown at UFC 299, Sean O’Malley insists he’ll face-off with the surging, Merab Dvalishvili in his subsequent outing at 135 kilos.
O’Malley, the present undisputed bantamweight champion, lodged his first profitable protection of that title earlier this month in a heated rematch in opposition to Vera, avenging his sole skilled loss in a lopsided judging win atop the UFC 299 card of their Florida re-run.
And instantly noting his curiosity in probably pursuing a title a division larger at 145 kilos, O’Malley urged the promotion to area him in opposition to newly-crowned gold holder, Ilia Topuria in a visit to Spain – a name which was instantly shut down by UFC brass, Dana White in addition.
Weighing up the prospect of taking over the surging Georgian grappling ace, Dvalishvili in what many have penned because the hardest stylistic matchup for O’Malley as defending champion, the Contender Collection product has welcomed a bout in opposition to the primary contender.
Sean O’Malley requires Merab Dvalishvili subsequent
Along with his head coach, Tim Welch admitting that Dvalishvili is an enormous downside for them and the championship reign, that has not deterred O’Malley was eyeing a struggle with the Tbilisi contender subsequent.
“Merab’s (Dvalishvili) subsequent, Merab is f*cking subsequent,” Sean O’Malley stated on his podcast. “Your want is granted. “Lots of people stated I’m ducking him. I simply actually am not ducking that little dude. I just like the struggle for me. There’s a number of methods to win, I’m excited concerning the struggle now, lastly.”
“I used to be simply by no means ducking him, I used to be simply by no means excited to struggle him, I don’t know,” Sean O’Malley defined. “Now, is simply the suitable time. Identical to the ‘Chito’ (Marlon Vera) rematch, the time will come – to the place it’s the suitable time to struggle sure folks. Merab’s subsequent. And, cautious what you would like for, buddy.”
Most lately handing over his personal dominant victory, Dvalishvili landed a one-sided resolution victory in opposition to former two-division champion and Olympic gold medal winner, Henry Cejudo on the primary card of UFC 298 final month in Anaheim.
Who wins in a title struggle this yr: Sean O’Malley or Merab Dvalishvili?
