UFC manager claims Sean O'Malley's next fight will be for the title, but not against new champ Merab Dvalishvili
Yesterday at 12:02
After dropping his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili this past weekend at UFC 306, Sean O'Malley revealed that he is set to have an extended stint on the sidelines as he requires hip surgery in October.
Despite Sean O'Malley likely being out of action for up to one year, his return fight will reportedly be for the bantamweight world title; although the source of this news also stated that it wouldn't be new champion Merab Dvalishvili holding the belt when the 'Suga Show' rolls back into town.
Sean O'Malley reveals hip injury that will require surgery after UFC 306
Speaking via his podcast following the unanimous decision loss at UFC 306, Sean O'Malley confirmed that he "probably won't fight for 9 months, 10 months, maybe a year.
"Like, it's gonna be a while, people are gonna have to watch the UFC without the Suga show for a little bit," stated the popular bantamweight, before revealing to streamer Adin Ross that the time-off is because he's soon to go under the knife.
“I have surgery on Oct. 3 – I tore my left labrum in my hip. That’s the only reason I’m going to be out for so long. This surgery should only take two months to come back from, then a couple of months of recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months. You never know.”
Ali Abdelaziz claims Sean O'Malley's next fight will be for UFC title
Whilst the UFC will likely move to make Merab Dvalishvili against 18-0 Umar Nurmagomedov next for the bantamweight title, Sean O'Malley's next fight after recovering from surgery will apparently be for that shiny gold belt.
At least that’s according to veteran manager Ali Abdelaziz, Umar Nurmagomedov's agent, who told Brett Okamoto via ESPN MMA that once the undefeated Russian captures the belt, he'll offer the next title shot to 'Suga'.
"I would like Sean O'Malley to do this; take as much time as he wants off, and I believe Umar will beat Merab, and after, then Umar will give him a title shot coming off a loss.
"I think Sean O'Malley is one of the biggest stars in the sport, this is a business about making money and I think Sean O'Malley deserves a title shot coming off a loss – do you know why? Because Sean O'Malley makes everyone in the division money, not Merab and not Umar yet."
Abdelaziz believes that it won't take long for the 18-0 Nurmagomedov to reach the same level of star power as O'Malley, although he did note that it would help if the undefeated Dagestani started trash-talking a little more.
"Umar has two billion people behind his back – he's going to be the second Khabib. He doesn't talk much; he needs to trash talk a little bit more like Khabib did, but Umar is special."
Back to the issue at hand and whilst the promotion could pick either Deiveson Figueiredo or Petr Yan as the next contender, the veteran manager believes that Sean O'Malley has done enough to warrant himself that next title shot.
"Umar will fight anybody, that can be Petr Yan or Figueiredo, but this is about making money and Sean O'Malley – nobody gave a s*** about the bantamweight division before [him]," acknowledged Abdelaziz.
"You have to give him credit, I don't know Sean O'Malley and we're not friends, but [he is] the guy who brought a lot of hype for the division; how can you not give him a title shot coming from a loss?
"This is about hype, business and making money. Listen, Merab vs Figueiredo; nobody gives a s***, Merab vs Petr Yan; nobody cares. Now Umar and Merab; people care, Umar and Sean O'Malley; people care."
- EXPLAINED: Dvalishvili pushes back on Nurmagomedov being next as he doubles down on callout of former champion
So, should Umar Nurmagomedov capture the UFC bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili, expect the Nurmagomedov team to be pushing for a ticket to the 'Suga Show'.
