This past Saturday night in the main event of Noche UFC, the bantamweight title was on the line. Sean O’Malley (18-2) was looking to defend his title against arguably the toughest challenger for him in the division in “The Machine” Merab Dvalishvili (18-4).
O’Malley had risen to the top of the promotion and was arguably the biggest star in terms of active champions the UFC has to offer outside of Jon Jones. O’Malley won the title last August with a second round knockout over Aljamain Sterling and then he decimated Chito Vera in their rematch back in March.
That said, there was not a tougher fight for him than Dvalishvili and it showed on Saturday night. From the opening moments of the fight, O’Malley just seemed off. Dvalishvili came forward immediately and never stopped pushing forward using tons of feints and movement. Dvalishvili was also very heavy on his wrestling.
While Aljamain Sterling struggled trying to get O’Malley to the ground, Dvalishvili got him down with relative ease. O’Malley’s only real success came in the fifth round at UFC 306. He landed a big front kick to the body that hurt Dvalishvili. However, he couldn’t really capitalize and ultimately lost a lopsided decision dropping the bantamweight title.
What’s next after UFC 306?
This is a tough one to swallow for Sean O’Malley. While he had become the champion and defended the title once, this was a huge opportunity on the massive Noche UFC stage to cement himself as one of the best in the world, pound for pound. Dvalishvili was a nightmare matchup stylistically for him and that nightmare played out on Saturday.
So, what’s next for the former champion. If you’re asking me, there are really only two options for Sean O’Malley. Umar Nurmagomedov is going to get the first crack at Merab Dvalishvili so O’Malley is going to need to get a win before he can challenge for the title again. In looking at the division, the opponent that makes the most sense is Cory Sandhagen.
I think the UFC leans towards this fight as it’s the best matchup stylistically for both men and they’re both in the top three of the division. If that’s not the fight that ends up getting made, the next option is Henry Cejudo. These two have gone back-and-forth for a while now and it could be time to settle the score. That said, Cejudo is 0-2 since returning and despite being a former two-division UFC champion, O’Malley might want to fight someone higher in the rankings.