Sean O’Malley Sugar Shawn MMA
He took his loss to Merab like a boss! Respect to you, Suga!
pic.twitter.com/xo10jjTVy3
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
September 15, 2024
Sean O’Malley is taking his title loss to Merab Dvalishvili in stride.
O’Malley faced Dvalishvili for the bantamweight belt in the main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. Aside from a front kick to the body that clearly hurt Dvalishvili in the final round, O’Malley was completely dominated by the Georgian, losing by unanimous decision.
While losing a title would hurt anyone, O’Malley isn’t likely to be mentally devastated, as he is treating this as his first professional loss and refusing to acknowledge his loss to Marlon Vera, which came after suffering a leg injury in an August 2020 bout.
“Sugar” was mocked by friends during their UFC 306 title fight, mocking takedown attempts and imitating Dvalishvili’s signature moves.
“He’s celebrating my first loss like it’s funny,” O’Malley said on Snapchat. “It’s not funny. Everybody loses at some point.”
O’Malley later admitted defeat and criticized himself for not living up to the high expectations. The former champion thanked the fans for their support and vowed to return.
“Hey guys, the job wasn’t done,” he said. “Thanks for the support, thanks for the love. I promised big things and I didn’t deliver. This sucks. I’m enjoying my family, my friends, and life. I’ll be back. Thanks everyone.”
The Montana native also wrote in the photo’s caption, “Damn. Not undefeated anymore.”
O’Malley was also seen wearing a wrestling singlet and practicing takedown defense.
O’Malley won the title by knockout over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023. While Dvalishvili was widely considered the next legitimate title contender, O’Malley insisted on fighting “Tito” Vera, who won by unanimous decision in his first title defense at UFC 299 in March of this year.
