Sean O`Malley faces a difficult path after his second consecutive loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career.
After losing the title to Dvalishvili last September at UFC 306, O`Malley was granted an immediate rematch eight months later. At UFC 316, O`Malley again fell to Dvalishvili, this time via third-round submission in the main event.
With two losses to the current champion, O`Malley`s future in the bantamweight division, or potentially even featherweight as suggested by Chael Sonnen, remains uncertain. One of O`Malley`s former opponents, Aljamain Sterling, expressed his belief that the UFC is unlikely to give “Suga” an easy fight next.
Aljamain Sterling says Sean O’Malley has to fight ‘the toughest guys at this point’
Sterling stated, “He`s gonna have to fight the toughest guys at this point.” He noted that O`Malley was often criticized for his level of opposition on his path to the title, mentioning fights against lower-ranked fighters before facing Petr Yan and Sterling himself.
Sterling listed several fighters who present stylistically tough challenges for O`Malley, such as Mario Bautista, Kyler Phillips, Merab Dvalishvili, and Umar Nurmagomedov, as well as Petr Yan, noting that Yan becomes tougher when he pressures.
Aljamain Sterling on Sean O’Malley’s next fight: ‘Give him Song Yadong’
However, Sterling acknowledged that there are also stylistically better matchups in the bantamweight division for a striker like O`Malley. Among these, he mentioned Patchy Mix and Aiemann Zahabi, describing Zahabi as a fighter who stays in the pocket.
Ultimately, when discussing a favorable matchup for O’Malley, Sterling suggested Song Yadong as a likely next opponent for O`Malley, describing him as a striker at heart.
Percy Harlow