Sean O’Malley has been touted as a star since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He nearly got that, but failed to live up to expectations in Saturday night’s UFC 306 main event. The “Shuga” show at the Sphere in Las Vegas was ruined when he couldn’t answer Merab Dvalishvili’s grappling and pressure in the championship main event of the night, losing by unanimous decision. O’Malley didn’t get much going until the final round, when he hurt Dvalishvili with a front kick to the body and continued to target that area for the majority of the round. By then, it was too late for the MMA Lab alum to tilt the scorecards in his favor.
“He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t have any edge until the last round,” UFC CEO Dana White said at the post-fight press conference at UFC 306. “He hurt him with the body shots. He knew he hurt him with the body shots, and he continued to go after them, trying to finish him. If you look at his punch stats, he had like six punches over a couple of rounds.”
In the end, Dvalishvili had a significant striking advantage, 82-47, scored six of his 15 takedowns and controlled the Octagon for 10 minutes, 3 seconds against a striking-minded opponent. White dismissed the idea that the moment was too big for O’Malley.
“I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think he’s a kid that lives for these kinds of moments,” White said. “It’s just who he is. That’s the kind of guy he is. I don’t know if he was just out there having a bad day tonight. Some nights, that’s just the way it is.”
O’Malley, who did not attend the post-fight press conference, released a short statement on social media after the loss. Before the fight, O’Malley said a win over Dvalishvili could propel him to UFC’s biggest stardom. It was O’Malley’s second loss in 13 UFC fights.
“Big promises, but no deliveries,” O’Malley wrote. “I’m sorry. I love you all.”
Too much promise and too little delivery. Sorry. Love you all.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA)
September 15, 2024
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