Sean O’Malley is gearing up for his upcoming bantamweight title defense against top challenger, Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Noche. Ahead of the fight, O’Malley is confident enough to put on a performance and get a knockout finish. However, rival Henry Cejudo‘s insider scoop suggests the result might be different.
UFC Noche is undoubtedly one of the biggest events of the year 2024. Dana White‘s $20 million dream project is marketed to be the greatest combat sports experience for fight fans. Henry Cejudo recently reviewed the fight and talked about getting some leaked information from O’Malley’s camp. The former UFC double champion revealed the champion’s inability to defend takedowns.
I know a little bit about O’Malley’s fight camp and how it’s been going… He doesn’t know how to get off the bottom, he’s having trouble. I’ve had three training partners that have gone out there, and they’ve all told me the same sh*t
Henry Cejudo via Pound 4 Pound Podcast
Cejudo has predicted Merab Dvalishvili to win due to his wrestling-heavy approach if he manages to survive an early knockout. If that happens, Cejudo also announced that he will fight O’Malley in the future. However, for ‘Triple C’ moving down to flyweight is also an option.
Interestingly, Dvalishvili easily defeated Cejudo in his last match at UFC 298. He even embarrassed Cejudo by picking him up and slamming him right in front of where Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg was sitting. Therefore, it makes sense for Cejudo to support someone who got past him with ease.
Henry Cejudo says he has inside information on Sean O’Malley’s camp for #NocheUFC and says “he’s having trouble” getting up from a bottom position 😳
He also says he’s planning on moving down to flyweight, but will stay at bantamweight to fight Sean O’Malley if he loses to Merab… pic.twitter.com/HtbdvYwZs1
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 10, 2024
Nevertheless, Dvalishvili is currently on a 10-fight winning streak and is known for his cardio and takedown abilities. The Georgian also has experience in fighting and dominating top strikers like Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. Going into UFC Noche, Dvalishvili would like to continue the same momentum in order to get his hands raised.
Sean O’Malley’s secret weapon against Merab Dvalishvili’s wrestling
Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest UFC superstars. As such, headlining UFC Noche is a testament to his popularity. The fighter is currently in incredible form and has put striking masterclasses in his last couple of fights. O’Malley is a sharpshooter and has promised to open up Dvalishvili’s recent cut in the fight.
The fighter is well aware of the wrestling threat that Dvalishvili possesses but isn’t concerned about defending against it. O’Malley believes he would get an early knockout even before his opponent shoots for a takedown. O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch has also relayed the same message, however, is confident about the fighter’s ground if things go south.
Merab is gonna have a hell of a time tracking Suga down and hell of time grabbing a hold of him and he does get a hold of him, then we get to show a whole new game that we’ve been saving for an opponent like this. Sean’s ground game, he’s been working on it for years.
Tim Welch via The Schmo YouTube channel
Welch has been O’Malley’s coach for a long time and is the most knowledgeable about his advantages and disadvantages. He was able to infuriate the challenger by participating in the sketch battle between O’Malley and Dvalishvili. In addition, Dvalishvili has discussed defeating O’Malley and then ‘smacking’ his coach for his earlier statements.
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