Sean O’Malley @SugaSeanMMA
is handling his defeat to Merab like a boss! Respect, Suga!
pic.twitter.com/xo10jjTVy3— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
September 15, 2024
Sean
O’Malley is taking his title loss against Merab
Dvalishvili in stride.
O’Malley put his bantamweight strap on the line against Dvalishvili
in the main event at UFC
306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. With the exception
of visibly hurting Dvalishvili in the final round with front kicks
to the body, O’Malley was thoroughly dominated by the Georgian on
the way to a unanimous decision loss.
While a title loss is bound to take a toll on everyone, O’Malley is
seemingly not letting it break him mentally. O’Malley is treating
it as his first professional loss, as he refuses to acknowledge a
prior loss against Marlon Vera
that occurred after he suffered a leg injury in the August 2020
bout.
“Sugar” was seen getting teased by his friend who mocked takedown
attempts, imitating Dvalishvili’s go-to move throughout the UFC 306
title fight.
“He’s f—ing celebrating my first loss like it’s something funny
dude,” O’Malley said on Snapchat. “Not funny man. Everyone’s gotta
lose sometime, man.”
O’Malley then went on to acknowledge the loss, critiquing himself
for over promising and under delivering. The former champ thanked
his fans for the support, vowing to return to action.
“Hello boys, didn’t get the job done,” he said. “Appreciate the
support, appreciate the love. Over promised, under delivered. This
one f—-ing stinks. Enjoying the family, enjoying friends, enjoying
life. We’ll be back. Appreciate you guys.”
The Montana native also wrote in the caption of a photo: “F–k. Not
undefeated anymore.“
O’Malley was also seen wearing a wrestling singlet, working on his
takedown defence.
O’Malley won the title with a knockout win over Aljamain
Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023. While Dvalishvili was
widely considered the next rightful title contender, O’Malley
insisted on fighting “Chito” Vera, whom he defeated by the
unanimous decision in his first title defense at UFC 299 this past
March.