Sean O’Malley didn`t anticipate being in serious danger when Merab Dvalishvili secured a front headlock during their grappling exchange in the third round. However, just moments later, the fight was over.
This was a startling turn of events for the former bantamweight champion, as he was forced to tap out for the first time in his professional career, ending his rematch with Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316. Days after the fight, O’Malley and his coach Tim Welch discussed the submission and highlighted the confidence Dvalishvili displayed in going for the neck, a contrast to their previous meeting in September where he primarily focused on maintaining a better position.
Speaking about the submission on his YouTube channel, O’Malley commented, “It felt weird. Because I didn’t feel like it was going to be tight. I felt like he was kind of stalling in that position like he does, and it just got tight fast.”
“I was like, `Oh damn`,” he recalled. “I didn`t realize how much time was left. I wish I would have stayed in my guard more instead of trying to get up and make something happen. No excuses.”
Having gone the distance with Dvalishvili in their initial encounter, O’Malley had nothing but praise for the Georgian fighter for successfully finishing the rematch.
Despite less than nine months passing between fights, O’Malley credited Dvalishvili for making necessary adjustments and somehow appearing even more powerful in the rematch.
“He felt strong last time but this time he felt just freakishly strong,” O’Malley stated. “He’s the greatest bantamweight of all time.”
While the outcome wasn`t what he desired, O’Malley admits his perspective after this loss feels significantly different compared to his first fight against Dvalishvili.
Part of this stems from walking away healthy. O’Malley mentioned that his body feels great right now, unlike after the fight last September, which required immediate hip surgery.
This time around, O’Malley understands he needs to make some necessary changes before competing again, but he is healthy, financially stable, and feels life could be much worse.
“So for me to be able to go through something like that and when the next Sunday rolls around, or Monday rolls around, I don’t feel sad at all,” O’Malley said. “I still feel very happy. I feel a little disappointed in the outcome. I feel like I’m frustrated but there’s no sadness inside of me.”
“I’m holding my 14-day-old,” he continued, “Elena’s sleeping on my chest, [my wife] Dani’s right next to me, and I’ll close my eyes and I’ll picture things — like when he locked up the guillotine, I could have done something, could have done this, could have done that. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. It’s kind of onto the next thought, I’m not dwelling on that thought, letting it unravel and go down a negative hole. I still feel very good.”
With two consecutive losses to Dvalishvili on his record, O’Malley will clearly face a different opponent for his next fight, but he isn`t ready to discuss potential matchups just yet.
During the podcast, one of O’Malley’s friends suggested a fight against Umar Nurmagomedov, who they mentioned had lost a decision to Dvalishvili back in January but is currently available.
While that suggestion might be intriguing, O’Malley stated that he is primarily focused on decompressing and will think about future opponents and a timeline for his return to fighting at a later date.
“It’s nice to not think about a fight right now,” O’Malley remarked. “Because I do want to just chill for a few weeks and it’s much better this way. Even if the UFC said they think they know what they’re going to do, I don’t even want to know right now. Let me chill for five.”
