Despite his recent faltering run, Sean O’Malley has no plans to call time on his Octagon career. As per his head coach, Tim Welch, there is still work to be done.
O’Malley, who is now 0-2 in title fights against bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili, succumbed in dominant fashion against the Georgian over the course of last weekend.
Headlining UFC 316, Montana striker O’Malley was submitted deep into the third round via a north-south choke from the Tbilisi striker, who ended their rivalry in definitive fashion.
Having failed to avenge his September loss to the Georgian, O’Malley now faces a rather difficult — if not impossible route to the crown once Dvalishvili remains king of the bantamweights.
Targeting a return to action before the end of the year to boot, O’Malley is seemingly looking at a long climb back to the top, possibly starting with a test against Umar Nurmagomedov.
As far as Coach Welch is concerned, there’s much more tread on the tires of the dynamic striker to be worn through.
“22 wins, 3 losses over the last 12 years,” Welch posted on Instagram, accompanied by a picture of him with O’Malley.
“We started with nothing, flat broke from Montana. We’ve built a life most only dream about: multiple homes, land, equity in major companies, a successful gym, and our dream property, Welch added.
“This was all built from passion, discipline. We could retire now, but the mission’s not over,” he continued. Whilst a mission has been identified, for the time being, O’Malley is targeting a particular timeframe for his return to action.
O’Malley eyes December return to UFC
Detailing his plan to fight again this year, O’Malley has been linked with a slew of potential opponents for his return.
From a possible pairing opposite both Nurmagomedov and to former foe, Petr Yan — the Montana striker revealed his current target was simply to get another fight under his belt.
“The division’s [bantamweight] gonna play out over the next few months,” O’Malley said on his podcast this week. “We’ll see where it goes. December seems like it would make sense for me to get back in there. Six or seven months.”
To boot, a pairing with former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueredo has already been suggested for O’Malley in his return to action.
Interestingly, however, despite his second straight loss to Dvalishvili, O’Malley remains unmoved in the rankings. Upon the release of the latest update, the Contender Series alum remains seated at number one in the division — Notably, sat above both the above-mentioned Nurmagomedov and his ex-opponent, Yan.
First fighting Yan back in 2021, O’Malley earned himself a title charge courtesy of a controversial split decision win in a trip to the Middle East. The two have never had a rematch and it is widely believed that one would solve the dispute to an agreeable conclusion for both involved parties.
