Merab Dvalishvili crushed Sean OโMalleyโs goal of defending his title on the highest platform. At UFC 306, OโMalley was overpowered by the Georgian, who used his entire arsenal to make a statement. Like former middleweight championย Israel Adesanya, OโMalleyย has decided to take a break from fighting following the crushing loss.
Israel Adesanya decided to take a sabbatical from fighting after his title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. The Kiwi fighter waited for almost a year and got another shot at the title against Dricus Du Plessis. Though he lost the fight, it was evident that his wait was worth it. As it turns out, OโMalley also plans to do the same and has urged his fans to stay put.
I probably wonโt fight for 9 months, 10 months. Maybe a year. Itโs gonna be a whileโฆPeople are gonna have to watch the UFC without the Suga Show for a little bit.
Sean OโMalley via The TimboSugarShowย
OโMalley was pretty active in the last 13 months, out of which three were title bouts. He was in a red hot form with frequent shows of striking masterclasses. However, he couldnโt do anything against Dvalishvili. As UFC CEO Dana White said, Sean OโMalley looked flat until the last round, but it was too late.
Dvalishvili used wrestling and unrelenting pressure to keep OโMalley under control for five rounds. Dvalishvili landed a series of takedowns, for which the champion had no answers. It was a tough day at work for OโMalley, but it did not cause the fighter to act out of character.
Sean OโMalley trolling his way through a championship loss
Ahead of the fight, Sean OโMalley frequently made fun of Merab Dvalishviliโs physical features and promised a knockout finish. He was confident about his sharpshooting abilities, but Dvalishvili used his cardio to keep him out of range. With his coach asking him to dig deep in between the rounds, OโMalley was helpless and ultimately failed.ย
OโMalley took the loss like a true showman and accepted his defeat instead of giving excuses. OโMalley made a hilarious video of him training in wrestling after the fight at UFC 306.
On top of that, he used โemoโ Snapchat filters to accept that heโs now not undefeated. The American fighter made another tweet hilariously making his own rules to overturn the loss.ย
Suga State athletic commission BREAKING NEWS Suga won 2 of the last 3 rounds!!ย Fight Over turned. Suga won.
Sean OโMalley via Xย
Sean OโMalley previously had only one loss in his professional MMA career, but he never really acknowledged it. However, losing his latest fight in such a dominant way, it wonโt be possible for โSugaโ to act undefeated. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what the former champion has planned going forward.