If Sean O’Malley wants a chance to get his bantamweight title on track, the new champion gives the nod. Merab Dvalishvili outflanked ‘Suga’ with grapples and kisses at the UFC 306 pay-per-view a little less than two weeks ago. Ever since, it seemed like undefeated bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov was his first viable defense, However, irked by claims of disputed scoring, the Georgian wants to settle it again.
On paper, the bout looked reasonably close – Dvalishvili scored 49-46 from one judge and 48-47 from two others. Subsequently, most media outlets had it 49-46 or 50-45 for mean ‘Machine’ by a factor of about 2-to-1. As tracked by MMA Decisions, shot-select Sean O’Malley was down all around. However, ‘Suga Show’ did a fight rewind on his YouTube podcast, and found he won R1, 3, and 5. Merab Dvalishvili answers back:
I hear O’Malley thinks he won the fight and is looking for a rematch. If he wants it he can have it. Let’s do it November 16th at the Garden and then I’ll still defend the title against whoever the UFC wants me to fight next. What do you think? @SugaSeanMMA
Merab Dvalishvili via X (@MerabDvalishvil)
If that’s the case, Dvalishvili says he’s ready to respond. The Georgian pitched UFC 309 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden, NYC in November as a hotspot. The penultimate pay-per-view sees the return of one Jon Jones in a title fight affair vs. Stipe Miocic. Michael Chandler and Charles ‘Do Brox’ Oliveira serve as the feature co-main bills.
I hear O’Malley thinks he won the fight and is looking for a rematch. If he wants it he can have it. Let’s do it November 16th at the Garden and then I’ll still defend the title against whoever the UFC wants me to fight next. What do you think? @SugaSeanMMA
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 27, 2024
While his intention of a quick turnaround for such a stacked-top card is understandable, his overall disposition isn’t. After his annual Noche pay-per-view fallout, Dvalishvili has been less than interested in giving Umar Nurmagomedov a chance. He even pitched Nurmagomedov vs. Petr Yan as a No. 1 contender scrap for his gold; that is far from a reality now. Instead of getting a nod, Dvalishvili has got two varieties of replies.
Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley respond to champ’s proposition
Ex-champ O’Malley said there was “no debate.” He lost rounds 2 and 4 “100 percent”, but not the other three. The 135lber has been taking his title loss well and even posted skits about getting back to it. The bout was Sean O’Malley’s second attempt to defend the title. He defeated Aljamain Sterling to win the belt in August 2023, then beat Marlon Vera in his hard-hitting first defense in March.
Umar Nurmagomedov left in the open by Merab Dvalishvili (Source: es.agfight.com/msn.com)Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), draped all over the striker, showcased a new breed of domination on quite a cardio. After which, Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov has become the go-to wrestle-heavy test. However, Dvalishvili’s detractors suspect that he has offered O’Malley a rematch simply because he is aware that this is not a realistic option for his first title defense. Also, there’s a chance he’s avoiding Umar.
Regardless, it doesn’t sound like O’Malley is planning on taking Dvalishvili up on his offer. He will be on the bench until well into the year 2025. He suffered a tear in his left pelvic labrum (hip joint) and will have surgery on October 3rd. His response to Dvalishvili was that he should just fight Nurmagomedov instead.
Getting surgery Oct 3rd. Fought you with one hip and still beat you. Round 1,3,5 . I’m the champ. Fight Umnar.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 27, 2024
Later, even Nurmagomedov chimed in via social media. However, the newly minted champ quickly overcorrected saying the push came from the other side.
😂😂😂😂😂
He ready to fight with anyone except Umar Nurmagomedov https://t.co/yCXC9xwGQ0— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) September 27, 2024
O’Malley DM’d me
this past Tuesday – Push for the rematch. He is so sure he won the fight that I wanna show him I will beat him again and again. I was gonna give him a quick turnaround in NY. I’m not ducking Umar – after the rematch I will fight him or anyone else UFC puts in…— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 27, 2024
Merab Dvalishvili later clarified, claiming that it was O’Malley who was pushing for a rematch — he was simply fulfilling a request. The bantamweight champ also insisted on being open to any fight, should the O’Malley situation be resolved.
