'He's flustered'… Sean O'Malley believes he's already under Merab Dvalishvili's skin ahead of UFC 306 title fight
22/08/2024 13:13
We're now just a few weeks away from the 'once in a lifetime' PPV at The Sphere in Las Vegas, UFC 306, with reigning bantamweight king Sean O'Malley stating that half the battle has already been won.
Two title fights top the UFC Noche bill, with Alexa Grasso set to defend her flyweight belt against long-term rival Valentina Shevchenko, followed by the bantamweight title clash that could catapult 'Suga' to the next level of global superstardom.
Sean O’Malley thinks he's already in Merab Dvalishvili's head ahead of UFC Noche
It's been a controversial week for opponent Merab Dvalishvili, having scaled the walls of the Craig Jones Invitational to confront a fan, before being labeled 'dumb' by UFC President Dana White over revealing he'd suffered a nasty cut in training.
Between all the stories surrounding the 'Machine' of the bantamweight division in recent weeks, champion Sean O'Malley believes that it's simply more evidence that he's got Dvalishvili flustered over the title bout.
"Merab's been calling me out for a while and it just never got any traction," he told Red Corner MMA, adding how "It's like you can be so boring for so long that it becomes interesting; like you can beat so many people in boring ways that you become interesting.
"It's too easy [to get under his skin], he needs to work on that – he's flustered. He's worried what Tim's saying, he's worried about my boy Schmitty, he's blocking a bunch of Suga fans – I think he's flustered."
O'Malley believes that Dvalishvili "knows that he's in for a tough night" on September 14 and that the Georgian wrecking ball could now be doubting his chances: "Be careful what you wish for, he's been wanting this fight for a long time but now that it's real, I bet he's like 'Ah s***'."
In addition to preparing to face 'Suga' at UFC 306 in September, Dvalishvili has also been partaking in some combat sambo events – having won the gold medal at the US Open Sambo Championships only a few weeks ago in June.
Unsurprisingly, O'Malley views this as further evidence that the ‘Machine’ isn't fully committed to their upcoming title fight in Las Vegas; albeit 'Suga' had some choice words for his next challenger.
"To be honest brother, I don't think he's all there mentally – I think he's borderline under-average intelligence, call it what you want… I was not impressed, I watched that thinking 'I would knock that dude out cold' so it made me more confident to be honest."
O'Malley reacts to Dvalishvili suffering a cut just three weeks out from UFC 306
Earlier in the week, Merab Dvalishvili posted a short video showing that he'd suffered a nasty cut over his eye during training, just a few weeks before his long-awaited clash with O'Malley.
It's safe to say that neither O'Malley nor Dana White were particularly impressed with the decision to share the cut with the world, with 'Suga' reacting on X by stating: "This little f***** rat better not pull out I swear to God."
He followed up that post by stating "Mirebs 2 biggest moments of his career. 1. I let him hold my jacket, 2. He gets a cut before he fights me," and later sharing "Umnar [Umar Nurmagomedov] wax that unibrow just in case Merat pulls out."
Dvalishvili himself responded to O'Malley on X, writing "Calm down – it's all good – just a little training injury. Never pulled out of a fight – and Never will! I'm coming for you O'Malley – stronger than ever… Vamos!"
Sean O'Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili is scheduled for September 14 in the main event of UFC 306, also referred to as UFC Noche, live from the Las Vegas Sphere.
