Sean O’Malley lost his bantamweight title at UFC 306 to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision, struggled with Dvalishvili’s pressure and takedowns, expressed disappointment on social media, and vowed to return stronger despite criticism from figures like boxer Devin Haney.
Sean O’Malley was understandably disappointed with his result at UFC 306.
After vowing to end Merab Dvalishvili inside the first round, O’Malley ended up losing a unanimous decision. This loss cost him the bantamweight title in his second attempted defense. O’Malley struggled to deal with Dvalishvili’s relentless pressure and takedowns before he was ultimately dethroned as champion.
While he didn’t make an appearance at the post-fight press conference, O’Malley posted a brief message on social media to address his loss.
“Over promised, under delivered,” O’Malley wrote on Twitter. “Sorry. Love you guys.”
Best known for his sniper-like striking, O’Malley just couldn’t pull the trigger much on Saturday. Dvalishvili constantly walked him down and scored several takedowns. The wrestling from Dvalishvili definitely altered O’Malley’s ability to use his kicks. Although, he did connect with a nasty shot to the body late in the fifth round.
Unfortunately for O’Malley, it was too little, too late. Dvalishvili survived the only serious damage he suffered in the fight before he was crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion.
It’s only the second time O’Malley has tasted defeat in his career. He’ll likely say it’s the first after an injury led to a ground and pound finish when he fell to Marlon “Chito” Vera back in 2020.
Considering the way the fight against Dvalishvili played out, O’Malley posted a short video on Instagram wearing a wrestling singlet. He showcased his sprawl to defend a takedown along with a caption that said “back to work.”
Because he lost after predicting a knockout victory, O’Malley had to know he was going to hear it from his biggest critics. This included boxer Devin Haney.
“O’Malley b*tch ass lost,” Haney wrote on Twitter.
While he probably wasn’t in the mood to hear it, O’Malley still took time to fire back at Haney. He reminded him about what would happen if they ever actually fought.
“Still kill you,” O’Malley wrote in response.
O’Malley leaves Las Vegas without his title but remains one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. It probably won’t take long for him to get back into contention with another win or two.
For now, he’s going to regroup and figure out where it all went wrong after losing on Saturday night.