Dana White says there’s no way he or the UFC could have had any knowledge of Sean O’Malley’s injury. ‘Suga’ lost his title gold to Merab Dvalishvili recently. The Georgian wrestler faded him out en route to a unanimous decision win at the UFC 306 Pay-per-view. After Saturday’s loss, ‘Suga’ called timeout. The UFC CEO says it’s not some injury they have known going into the fight.
Speaking about his time off, O’Malley recently revealed he would at least be on the bench for nearly a year. Although the UFC 306 PPV clinical suspensions are not listed yet, Sean O’Malley also said he suffered a tear in his left pelvic labrum (hip joint). So in an ideal timeline, the former bantamweight champ will be out somewhere around six to eight months. The UFC bossman weighed in shortly after.
If these guys come in and they have something that we don’t know, I mean, …how would the doctors check for a torn labrum?…You know what I mean? You can’t…Literally everybody reached out to me that night and said Sean O’Malley didn’t look like himself…He didn’t look explosive, he didn’t look, you know, all the same stuff we were all saying that night. Not to take anything from Merab.
Dana White to media scrum druing Contender Series 72 (DWCS) post-fight conference interviews
Lately, the absence of ‘GOAT’ Jon Jones for over a year due to his pectoral tear has put a big dent in the fight grind. Added to that are injury pullouts from Charles Oliveira, Paulo Costa, Conor McGregor, and others. The June Curse saw six consecutive changes in the same card, which also followed the next month. Similarly, ‘Suga’ will likely take at least January or February of next year to recover.
Before the UFC 306 PPV, there was also some build-up of frustration about Merab Dvalishvili suffering a cut. During Wednesday’s Contender Series 72 (DWCS) media scrum, White was asked how the UFC could prevent injured fighters from competing. A bent out of shape Dana White aired his frustration of not knowing about such beforehand.
Road back will be difficult for Sean O’Malley after title loss, says UFC Veteran
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) faced 6 takedowns and about 10 minutes and 3 seconds of ground control domination before his decision loss (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). His UFC 306 fadeout to Merab Dvalishvili has been a magnet to many opinions.
The likes of Merab Dvalishvili are a bad match for striker Sean O’Malley (Source: heavy.com/Instagram)Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren, Derek Brunson, and others gave their input. Marlon Vera had a somewhat misunderstood take on the matter. Cejudo had a hunch that the Georgian fighter could impose his will on the ‘Suga Show.’
CEO Dana White said he looked flat and did not perform as usual; loads of other fighters and his mom told him so as well. ‘Funk Master’ Aljamain Sterling played ‘Debunk Master’ to give his take similarly whether ‘Suga Show’ really has a slow output or not.
After Saturday’s UFC 306 title fight headliner, UFC competition veteran, fight analyst, and Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier had a more immediate reaction. Cormier believes that unless O’Malley’s grappling improves, he is in for a rough awakening.
The road back will be difficult, you know, …It’s hard to get yourself back to that level once you’ve been there and you recognize the stardom that comes…he was in there with a guy that really will be a matchup problem for him every time that they fight. He’s just got to get better with the wrestling, better at the defending takedowns and he’s got to just really react a little earlier.
Daniel Cormier via his Official YT Channel (@DC_MMA)
Although a brown belt and a Quintent Ultra Submissions Grappling alum, ‘DC’ thinks his ground game reaction was too slow in contrast to combat sambo champ Merab Dvalishvili. This is why ‘The Machine’ was able to take him down six times even though ‘Suga’ held on and tried not to give his back.
O’Malley’s best moment came in the R5 when he landed a teep kick to the midriff of Dvalishvili, sending him backward. The Georgian fighter attributed to consuming sweets before the bout. It was too little, too late for O’Malley, but Cormier was full of praise for his fight to the end.
