When former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley lost the belt to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, he entered the fight under less than ideal conditions. Following the loss, “Suga” headed into surgery to repair an injured hip.
O’Malley doesn’t think the hip injury played a major role in the fight itself, but it did affect his preparation for the fight.
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“I was confident that I could go out there and knock Merab out. I did it against Aljo (Aljamain Sterling). The Aljo fight was worse, like the rib. I would say the rib was worse than the actual hip,” O’Malley told Daniel Cornier.
“The hip didn’t play as much a role in the fight as it did as the camp. To fight someone like Merab you’ve got to prepare right. You’re got to wrestle. You’ve got to be grappling and we didn’t do that at all, hardly at all the first fight,” continued O’Malley. “This camp we’ve been able to wrestle more than we’ve ever been able to.”
O’Malley didn’t make excuses for the UFC 306 loss to Dvalishvili. He entered that fight expecting to win.
“That fight played out how it was supposed to play out. This fight will play out the way it’s supposed to play out. It’ll just make this win that much better, that much sweeter” O’Malley said. “He won. It wasn’t because of The Sphere. It was because of the lights. It wasn’t the pressure. It wasn’t the moment. It was my preparation.”
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O’Malley has made several changes heading into the rematch. He’s stayed off social media and stopped smoking marijuana, among other things. He believes those choices will pay off.
“To beat Merab you’ve got to be focused. You’ve got to be dialed, have the correct preparation. They call him ‘The Machine’ for a reason. He’s a machine, so I’ve got to go out there and break the machine. That’s been the goal this whole camp is go out there and break ‘The Machine,’:” O’Malley said.
“I’m prepared for a 25 minute war,” continued the former champion. “I wouldn’t be surprised I get my hand raised, and new, first-round KO, second-round KO. I know I can put his lights out. I know I can. He’s sloppy. He’s mastered his style. He’s really good at it, but it takes one mistake. Aljo made that one mistake in the second round. It takes one mistake for me to put someone’s lights out, for the fight to change. I wouldn’t be surprised to get him out of there early, but I’m prepared and planned to go 25 minutes.”
