Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley are supposed to be sworn enemies. Their back-and-forth before their UFC 306 meeting was heated, Dvalishvili stole O’Malley’s red jacket after Aljamain Sterling beat Henry Cejudo and faced off with ‘Suga’. Worse even, ‘The Machine’ humiliated O’Malley by kissing him on the back of the neck when he had the American fighter in a front head-lock position against the cage during their UFC Noche title fight. So, why in the world were they spotted having a good time in the jacuzzi together? UFC legend Matt Serra had the same question as he fired shots at O’Malley and his team.
Speaking of the rivalry between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishivli, Matt Serra recently shared an interesting take on the two bantamweight stars, by first showering the Georgian champion with praise. It seems like Dvalishvili is one of those fighters who’ve made their way into Serra’s good books, and the latter claims that he and the reigning champ are on the same page when it comes to addressing “disrespect.”
“Merab is the sweetest… as a man, he doesn’t like disrespect,” the former UFC welterweight champion stated on the Overdogs Podcast with Mike Perry. He then turned his attention to Sean O’Malley, sharing a few words of dissatisfaction with his ‘juvenile’ attitude claiming that he wouldn’t have a chance if Dvalishvili decided to take matters outside the Octagon. In the same vein, he also took shots at O’Malley’s head coach Tim Welch.
“I like when he got in that Tim Welch’s face. Tim Welch is the—Sean O’Malley’s a nice kid, but he still has like a kid’s mentality,” said Matt Serra before adding. “Merab would eat him in a street fight. I don’t give a f— what that ginger knows. He would eat him up.”
MMA: Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 – OMalley vs Dvalishvili Sep 14, 2024 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Sean OMalley of the United States red gloves fights Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia blue gloves during Riyadh Season Noche UFC 306 at The Sphere. Las Vegas The Sphere Nevada USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxR.xSylvaniex 20240915_jpm_cs1_M19570
However, the words that Matt Serra used to described ‘Suga’s coach were censored in the interview. “I’m not a fan of that guy because when they were fighting, he does some dirty sh-t.” Serra recalled the time when Alajamin Sterling fought Sean O’Malley and Tim Welch tried to distract ‘Funk Master’ by yelling fake instructions at him mid-fight. He didn’t seem to appreciate that even though there are no rules against corners causing such disruptions for the opponent.
Well, Matt Serra will have a chance to see the bantamweight duo settle another score in the foreseeable future. That’s because Merab Dvalishvili recently gave a positive nod on the rematch against Sean O’Malley. Let’s take a look at that front.
Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley is ‘happening’
The current state of the bantamweight division is locked with the aforementioned duo in the title scenario. While addressing the media after UFC Seattle last month, Dana White claimed that it’s what both Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley want, and hence, it makes sense to book that bout once again. “They want to fight each other, and I think people want to see it,” the UFC CEO started. While we don’t have any scheduled date for the championship fight, ‘The Machine’ confirmed it.
“It’s happening, yeah. I don’t know about a time yet, but it’s happening,” Merab Dvalishvili doubled down during an interview with Clockedandloaded. Interestingly, the confident champion claimed that things are going to be no different this time out because he pictures himself dominating O’Malley once again. However, this time, ‘The Machine’ plans to finish his rival and take no prisoners.
It’s only a matter of time because the official word on the rematch is out. Let us know your predictions for the bantamweight title this time out in the comments section down below.
The post “He Still Has a Kid’s Mentality” – Ex-UFC Champ Confronts Sean O’Malley on ‘Disrespecting’ Merab Dvalishvili appeared first on EssentiallySports.