Newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has been very vocal about not wanting to fight Umar Nurmagomedov. His logic behind it is that the Dagestani fighter has not proved himself against the best opponents in the division yet. However, former champ Sean O’Malley has no such issues with Umar and has now mocked the Georgian by assuring him that he would take care of the Dagestani.
Dvalishvili believes other fighters like Deiveson Figueiredo deserve the title shot more than Umar and has claimed that the Dagestani fighter gets to skip all the steps to the top due to his legendary last name.
This call of nepotism did not sit well with Sean O’Malley who called out the champ for ducking that fight. So naturally, he also offered to step up and do the right thing.
In a recent YouTube video, ‘Sugar’ called out the champ for ducking Umar Nurmagomedov and declared himself the true champion of the bantamweight division.
“Merab’s f*cking terrified of Umar, doesn’t want to fight Umar….He’s not the champ, I’m the champ. I would fight Umar, I should fight Umar next for the belt. I’m the champ, I should defend my belt against Umar.”
But as it happens, all these call outs will have to wait since Sean O’Malley will be going under the knife soon. He estimates a return to active fighting only by June or July next year.
His surgery date is set for October 3rd after which he will be out for a solid 7 to 9 months as he previously revealed. And when he does come back, he will look to fight for the title again.
Well, now the champ is not one to sit back and take all this trash talking, especially from a guy he owned for 5 straight rounds.
So, as expected, ‘The Machine‘ prepared a little skit for his ‘pink haired boy’.
Dvalishvili calls O’Malley his son
Dvalishvili has come out with yet another skit, the only difference being, this time around he has the belt wrapped around his waist like he had always predicted.
He is seen driving his car before he runs into something. Startled by who it was he hit with the car, the bantamweight champion rushes out, only to see ‘O’Malley’ (an inflatable doll) driving a toy car. So he brushes his hair and tell him not to worry about Umar since he’s no longer the champion.
“Listen son, don’t worry about this Umar Nurmagomedov, I will take care of Umar. You’re not a champion anymore and I’m gonna take belt from you again.”
Merab Dvalishvili called Sean O’Malley his “son” in his latest skit #NocheUFC
(via @MerabDvalishvil) | #UFC306 pic.twitter.com/7NxhxJ4Ny2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 20, 2024
O’Malley might have been a little salty since losing the title as fighting Merab wasn’t something he even wanted to do. Following his title defense against Marlon Vera, ‘Suga’ had wanted to change weight class and challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title.
However, Merab had to drag him into the octagon by making fun of him on skits. The rivalry had become so heated that the Georgian was seen screaming at O’Malley’s coach right before the fight began. And after it was over, the newly crowned bantamweight champion accused the opponent’s camp of unsportsmanlike conduct.
Now, coming back to Umar, ‘The Machine’ doesn’t think he deserves the shot but is willing to fight anybody the UFC puts before him next, be it the ‘Young Eagle’ or Deiveson Figueiredo.
