Sean O’Malley became the UFC Bantamweight champion after defeating Aljamain Sterling with a technical knockout. The Suga Show hasn’t decided on his next opponent yet, but Merab Dvalishvili and Chito Vera are among the top contenders for a fight against O’Malley.
O’Malley made it apparent on social media that he had no intention of fighting Merab Dvalishvili. Merab, on the other hand, believes O’Malley has been avoiding him since 2018.
Sean O’Malley fires shots at Merab Dvalishvili
O’Malley took to Twitter and made a bold statement, saying, ‘It took mediocre Merab 5 rounds to beat Peter. I beat him in 3,’ indicating the fight when O’Malley and Petr Yan fought last year in October, with O’Malley emerging victorious by a split decision win in the third round.
It took mediocre Merab 5 rounds to beat Peter I beat him in 3
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 9, 2023
In a recent interview to The MMA hour, O’Malley further stated, ‘I knocked out Merab on August 19th, the same night I knocked out Aljo. They’re the same; they hold hands; they’re the same person. I knocked them both out on August 19th, so we’ll see what happens,’ referring to the fact that Merab won’t fight Aljamain Sterling due to their friendship.
This all makes no sense Champ … say what you want to say .. I am next in line. I'm ready … are you ? https://t.co/kJvsqt1yNG
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 6, 2023
Merab also responded to O’Malley’s claims on social media, stating, ‘This all makes no sense, champ. Say what you want to say. I am next in line. I’m ready. Are you?’
Dvalishvili denied all allegations from O’Malley regarding him and Sterling holding hands and emphasized that he’s next in line to fight O’Malley, also expressing his readiness for the bout.
Sean O’Malley gets brutally trolled by UFC fans
The tweet from Sean, firing shots at Merab, created turbulence on social media. The new UFC bantamweight champion was heavily trolled by UFC fans on social media.
One fan remarked, ‘Merab actually dominated him. You lost that fight to Yan, but got the typical UFC push, just like Paddy Pimblett.’ This comment referred to Merab’s domination of Petr Yan, whereas O’Malley received what some allege to be UFC’s favoritism.
The fight against Petr Yan was indeed controversial, with the entire UFC world dubbing it a ‘robbery.’ Two judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of O’Malley, and one judge scored it 29-28 in favor of Yan. However, many UFC fans worldwide believe Petr Yan should have been declared the winner.
Merab Dvalishvili responds to Sean O'Malley claiming to have knocked both him and Aljamain Sterling out at #UFC292 😬#UFC #MMA | @ufc pic.twitter.com/mprt9DnGgt
— Sportskeeda MMA (@sportskeedaMMA) September 7, 2023
Who do you think O’Malley will face next, and do you think he is avoiding the match with Merab? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
