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Sean O'Malley recently posted a clip to his Instagram account that confirms to many he will be taking a hiatus from mixed martial arts after losing his UFC title. O'Malley lost his UFC bantamweight title on points to Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 306 over the weekend and it seems like the colorful former champion will be out of the picture in the near future.
On his Instagram account, O'Malley was seen donning a pink robe and walking into a cage that he has on his property. From there he placed his championship belt inside a suitcase and zipped it up. The caption of the post from O'Malley read:
"You can take the belt from me but you can't take the champ outa me. Not necessarily proud of my performance but proud of my mindset. Lost first twoorounds and came back to win the third and fifth."
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"Had his b**ch a** running from me in the fifth. Going to be out realistically 7-9 months. Going to get healthy and work on some things. Love you guys, love this sport, love the UFC. I'll be back."
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Check out Sean O'Malley addressing his hiatus after losing his UFC belt below
Sean O'Malley and his tenure as UFC bantamweight champion
Sean O'Malley had a relatively brief but impactful journey as the kingpin of 135 pounds in the UFC as his tenure on top lasted just a bit over one year. O'Malley initially captured the strap by besting a long-time training partner and friend of the man he just lost the belt to. Aljamain Sterling was the titleholder heading into UFC 292 but he would not leave the octagon with his hold on the gold.
On that August 2023 night, O'Malley finished Sterling with strikes less than one minute into the second stanza to cement himself as the bantamweight titleholder.
The 29-year-old would defend his belt for the first time in March of this year when he bested the only man who had garnered a win over him in mixed martial arts up until that point. Marlon 'Chito' Vera got thoroughly outpointed by O'Malley at UFC 299, with the champion tying up his series against Vera by way of a unanimous decision in a striking masterclass.
'Suga' attempted to make the sophomore defense of his bantamweight belt on Sept. 14 but Merab Dvalishvili would hand him his second-ever loss in MMA. The Montana native has many contenders that want to fight him next but it remains to be seen when the former champ will get back to.
