This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC 316, the bantamweight title was on the line. Champion Merab Dvalishvili (20-4) was looking to defend his title against the man he took the title from in former champion Sean O’Malley (18-3).
O’Malley went into this title fight the most focused I’ve ever seen him. He talked about not being healthy for the first fight against Dvalishvili and he so desperately wanted to prove that when he’s healthy and focused, he’s the best bantamweight in the world.
O’Malley did have some success in this fight, but the story was all about the champion and his suffocating pressure. O’Malley did better with defending takedowns in this fight and he had moments, but even in the striking, you can make the argument that Dvalishvili won there as well.
Entering the third, you could tell O’Malley was getting drained. Dvalishvili was able to take him down in the third and every time O’Malley worked his way up, he was taken right back down. Eventually, Dvalishvili locked in a choke and O’Malley was forced to tap falling short of his goal of regaining the UFC bantamweight title.
What’s next after UFC 316?
As long as Merab Dvalishvili is champion, it’s going to take O’Malley a few fights to get another opportunity. He’s in the same position that Max Holloway was in after two losses to Alexander Volkanovski. Granted, the second fight between those two was extremely close where this fight was not.
O’Malley has talked about moving up to 145 and that’s certainly an option for him and the UFC. Should he stay at 135, there are definitely some compelling matchups for him. Someone in the post-fight press conference mentioned a trilogy with him and Chito Vera and that’s certainly a fight I’d be interested in.
A matchup with Song Yadong is another fight that could be interesting. Henry Cejudo has already called out O’Malley for a fight and that could be another one to watch. I’ve seen some mention Umar Nurmagomedov and I just don’t think that’s the right fight for the promotional aspect of Sean O’Malley. I think he needs a matchup where he can shine and regain his status after two straight losses.