Daniel Cormier Thinks Sean O’Malley’s ‘No-Fap’ Lifestyle Is What It Takes to Stop Merab Dvalishvili

UFC 316’s headline title fight between bantamweights Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley is set to be the standout bout of 2025. The clash of styles, not to mention O’Malley’s long-awaited shot at redemption, makes this a bout that the UFC fans are mightily excited for.

However, there has been one aspect to O’Malley’s much-discussed lifestyle reset that has set tongues wagging and raised a few eyebrows.

The American fighter has stopped smoking weed, cut out the video games, and stepped back from his lucrative social media platforms. However, it is a more lascivious aspect to Suga’s pre-fight prep that has dominated press conferences and interviews in the run-up to the sixth UFC pay-per-view of the year.

Speaking on Good Guy / Bad Guy, Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen discussed just that: O’Malley’s decision to abstain from ‘self-love’, or, to put it in coarser terms, his decision to adopt the ‘no-fap’ lifestyle. And surprisingly, former two-division champ Cormier thinks it’s a step in the right direction.

“Everything that you can do to try and change the result, you have to,” stated Cormier, aligning with O’Malley’s stance.

However, Cormier was quick to touch on O’Malley’s opponent, Merab, and how his pre and post-fight work has inspired not only ‘Suga’ but the remainder of the bantamweight division.

“I went to interview Merab [the] Sunday after he beat Sean O’Malley. Merab came back running, he was on a run. Sprinting down the street, he was sweating. Then before we could do the interview he sat down and lifted weights. He wanted to continue to work,” DC began. 

“I said, ‘Sean, did you see that?’ and he goes, ‘Yes.’ He goes, ‘Part of that is why I’ve changed so much.’ Because to beat this man, you can’t live a normal life. You have to live a life that’s so committed to the thing. To this thing, MMA, to give yourself a chance,” he continued. 

The veteran analyst then claimed that by being as good as he is, Merab was changing the culture of the 135 lbs division.

“This guy is working out, looking at the next thing. That is why he’s so special. I think Sean attributes a lot of that to the changes. Because you gotta be completely clean if you wanna beat this dude,” DC asserted. 

And as true as that maybe, O’Malley seems far too focused on masturbation for a man who’s stopped dancing the lambada with himself.

O’Malley: No masturbation has made me a ‘faster’ fighter

The strict measures O’Malley has adopted for the Merab sequel have had unexpected benefits for his physical attributes.

Speaking to Jack Mac and Robbie Fox on Spinnin Backfist, O’Malley revealed how his stringent routine has affected him positively in both a mental and physical sense.

“I think I might be a little bit faster,” revealed O’Malley. And when asked whether no ‘self-love’ was his idea or that of his trusted coach, Tim Welch, ‘Suga’ was quick to claim credit for adopting the interesting approach to his UFC 316 fight.

O’Malley also thought about his sexual routine in a more pragmatic sense, which drew laughter from Mac and Fox. “You know, you do your deed and you kinda lay there. You never get up and shadowbox.”

While fans and analysts are deeply analyzing O’Malley’s renewed focus ahead of the Merab fight, it seems that beyond all of the complex diets and grueling fight camps, sometimes a little bit of common sense goes a long way.