‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley promises that he is a new man now, keeping a low profile on social media, just recovering and getting better behind closed doors. It’s been almost three months since the former UFC bantamweight champion announced his decision to step away from the public eye.
The American got dominated throughout the duration of his last fight- in a losing cause against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC: Noche last year. Although he claims he wasn’t 100% himself due to his nagging hip injury, O’Malley realized it was time for some big changes.
Now, as he prepares to face ‘The Machine’ for the second time at UFC 316 on June 7, this time as the challenger, ‘Suga’ claims that he is in a much better mindset.
On the latest episode of the TimboSugarShow, O’Malley explained the benefits he has seen since detoxing social media out of his system.
“I don’t have as much anxiety interacting with people…I don’t feel like I have anxiety in general from not being on social media, being around people”, the former bantamweight champion said.
Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title in a rematch against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316, Dana White announced. pic.twitter.com/EXmIzjKLUO
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 1, 2025
So for all these months, it’s just been him, his wife, child, and his team, working in the dark, not making too much noise, and just focusing on their next fight, as he recovered and subsequently rehabed after the hip surgery. a
It seems he’s gone through a crucible during this time because he’s now into preaching a gadget-free life.
“I wouldn’t be surprised one day if a study comes out or some science of how really really bad constantly being on your phone is”, explained O’Malley.
But all this sermonizing doesn’t mean ‘Suga’ is oblivious to the public perception of his rematch with Merab, especially since the consensus and common sense continue to whisper about how he doesn’t deserve it.
However, ‘Suga‘ has welcomed the criticism.
O’Malley’s mindset for the Merab rematch
O’Malley arguably took shortcuts to get to his first title shot when he took on Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in 2023. Firstly, he received a #1 contender fight against Petr Yan a year earlier, despite not being ranked very highly. Even when he won the fight, the results divided fans, many of whom believed Yan had been robbed.
After he won the title against Sterling, he only defended it once and tried to lobby for a title fight in another division while actively trying to dodge Merab.
When forced to face the Georgian at UFC 306 last year, O’Malley not only failed to defend the title – Merab toyed with him for five rounds.
This is why many believe O’Malley should have at least fought once more before being granted a title shot. He didn’t have an answer for anything Merav threw at him, and there’s no indication that he’s made any changes to his game whatsoever.
“I know I’m going to be a huge underdog. Everyone is going to count me out, just like the Aljo fight,” he said.
Sean O’Malley says he’s a changed man for his #UFC316 title rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. pic.twitter.com/7iNt0v3Ud1
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 2, 2025
He also referenced a moment before his win against Sterling when Dana White walked into a room full of reporters and asked them who thought ‘Sugar’ would beat Sterling, and out of around 40 reporters, only one reporter to raise his hand was from O’Malley’s hometown of Helena, Montana.
“This is going to be the same thing. No one is going to expect me to go out there and do what I’m capable of doing”, he said.
O’Malley does not mind being the underdog; in fact, he welcomes the challenge. As long as he does all the boring things right and follows the gameplan, he knows he can bridge the gap between Merab and himself on June 7.
