Sean O'Malley's head coach reveals a rematch between 'Suga' and Merab Dvalishvili is 'very likely' amid fight talks
10/30/2024 01:23 PM
Following their first fight at UFC 306 this past September, Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley have spoken about the potential of an immediate rematch.
Sean O’Malley was on his way to becoming one of the UFC’s biggest stars, and he was being backed by the promotion when he was given the headline spot at UFC 306, the mega event that took place in the Sphere.
Despite that, ‘Suga’ came unstuck against Merab Dvalishvili who sailed to a comprehensive decision win, becoming the new bantamweight champion.
Sean O’Malley’s head coach teases ‘very likely’ rematch against Merab Dvalishvili
After his disappointing loss, O’Malley came out and revealed that he went into the fight with a torn labrum and underwent surgery shortly after the fight.
Because of that, ‘The Machine’ claimed that he would fight the 30-year-old again in a rematch to prove that he could beat him even if he was in full health and has seemingly been pushing for that fight over others.
This didn’t sit well with the number two-ranked bantamweight, Umar Nurmagomedov, who has been waiting patiently for a title shot following a recent win over Cory Sandhagen.
Rumors recently circulated that Nurmagomedov was set to accept a fight against Song Yadong, instead of waiting for Dvalishvili to return to action. Despite that, the rumors aren’t believed to be accurate.
Despite that, O’Malley’s head coach, Tim Welch has teased that a rematch against the Georgian is ‘very likely’.
“I think someone explained to him that there’s a thing called PPV points and you might make more money if more people watch the fight,” Welch told Submission Radio.
“I think it’s very likely (that Merab fights Sean next), I think it’s very likely and we fix a couple of things in that fight and then that fight is completely different, especially if we get Sean to 100%… I think it’s really likely to happen,” the head coach continued.
Sean O’Malley wants to get back to a position of a possible fight against Ilia Topuria
Whilst he was the bantamweight champion, O’Malley was on the cusp of being able to fight in mega fights. He and featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria flirted at the idea of a potential future fight, but that idea was crushed at UFC 306.
Following Topuria’s emphatic win over Max Holloway this past Saturday at UFC 308, ‘Suga’ vowed to reclimb the ladder back to a spot where he can have a super fight against ‘El Matador’.
Welch talked about the potential of a fight between O’Malley and Topuria, saying: “I don’t think it’s passed, you never know what’s gonna happen in the UFC… I do think stylistically, Sean could give Ilia problems, he really could.”
