“I’m expecting the same Merab — a guy who knows how to win 25 minutes by getting into dominant positions and doing just enough damage to avoid a stand-up,” said Sean O’Malley’s head coach, Tim Welch, when asked about the former bantamweight champion’s training camp. After all, Merab Dvalishvili shocked the world as he mauled O’Malley last year, ripping the 135-pound belt from his waist with a relentless onslaught of takedowns and grind-heavy wrestling at UFC 306.
Now, with the promotion finally handing ‘Suga’ his shot at revenge, all eyes are on his training — but shaky footage and whispers from fans are painting a worrying picture: Is O’Malley sharpening his weapons or heading into war half-prepared? In a video uploaded by FullSend MMA on their Instagram handle, we can see visuals of Sean O’Malley training.
The short clip showed the former champion intensely working on his core. Now, you might be wondering why he’s training his core when he should be working on his cardio. Well, last time Dvalishvili executed six successful takedowns against O’Malley, leading to over 10 minutes of control time on the ground. This was one of the prime reasons for O’Malley’s defeat! It was a wrestling clinic fused with chaos.
‘Suga’ came out sharp, his striking slick and savage—but ‘The Machine’ had other plans. With relentless takedowns and suffocating pressure, Merab shut down the champ’s rhythm. His freakish cardio and ironclad core turned the tide, dragging O’Malley into deep waters before breaking him down piece by piece.
This is why ‘Suga’ is giving his all to improve his balance, takedown defense, and ability to scramble and stand up swiftly. For this, core exercises are a must. When asked about O’Malley’s training, Welch stated that they are prepared for whatever ‘The Machine’ has to throw at them. “We’re preparing for the worst. We’re preparing to be stuck on bottom in half-guard. We’re preparing to be against the fence with Merab just grinding on you. We’re preparing for the worst, and last time, we didn’t get to prepare for the worst. Pinning people on the fence, pinning people in half guard, pinning people on their guard. He’s just an expert at winning 25 minutes.”
As a slick striker, Sean O’Malley has always taken advantage of his reach and knockout power. If we look at his fights against Marlon Vera and Aljamain Sterling, it’s clear that O’Malley consistently relies on his boxing to finish opponents. However, this strategy proved to be costly against Merab Dvalishvili.
It appears that Tim Welch has a plan for Sean O’Malley and wants his protege to strictly stick to it. However, the MMA community might have different opinions about Suga’s training approach. Let’s have a look at what the fans have to say!
Fans raise concern for Sean O’Malley ahead of UFC 316 rematch
Starting off, we witnessed a social media user who believed that O’Malley is using small weights to train his core, “That’s an average light core day hahahahaha.”Well, the observation is crucial. However, training your core with heavy weights is excessive for someone competing at 135 lbs.
Witnessing Sean O’Malley’s training, another fan asserted, “No excuses this fight. We are getting the best suga we’ve seen. Dude has legit been saying nothing. Just training. If he loses, he just ain’t on that level.” Sean O’Malley is certainly locked in on his target ahead of his fight. During a recent episode of his podcast, the former bantamweight champion asserted that he is now free from all distractions.
He added, “I decided in 2025 I’m done with social media—I don’t get on social media, and I feel like that’s changed my life. It’s only been three months, but I literally feel like it’s changed my life, and I feel like that’s going to play a role in my performance.”
Well, despite his comments on staying away from social media, we still witness some posts from him on his Instagram handle, but the frequency is significantly lower. Furthermore, another fan highlighted the importance of cardio for O’Malley, “The only training he needs to do is on an aerodyne bike cause that cardio can’t keep up with Merab.”
Moreover, another social media user took a cheeky jibe at the training footage, “Looking like the average Planet Fitness member.” There’s a reason why Merab Dvalishvili is nicknamed ‘The Machine’—in his fight against Petr Yan, he attempted an astonishing 49 takedowns, nearly breaking the record for the most in a single UFC fight.
That’s not all, he broke Georges St-Pierre’s record of the most takedowns landed (92) in history at UFC 311 and most takedowns landed in the bantamweight division history at 79. Looking at this, a fan wrote, “Nobody will ever be able to replicate Merab’s cardio.”
Last but not the least, a fan added, “Merab did humbled him, now he takes it seriously.” UFC 306 seems to have brought a real change in Sean O’Malley. After the defeat, he appeared quieter and more humble—is this the calm before the storm? With just weeks remaining for the ultimate battle at UFC 316, who do you think will emerge victorious in their rematch? State your opinions in the comments below.
The post Growing Concerns for Sean O’Malley as Core Training Fails to Impress Fans Ahead of Merab Dvalishvili Rematch appeared first on EssentiallySports.