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UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley appears to have set his sights on his next opponent, hinting at a potential fight with Merab Dvalishvili while taking a swipe at rival Henry Cejudo.
O'Malley and Cejudo have exchanged barbs for some time, with Cejudo even interrupting a post-fight interview last year to challenge O'Malley to a fight. However, O'Malley has surpassed Cejudo in recent rankings.
While Cejudo's attempt to reclaim the bantamweight title from Aljamain Sterling was unsuccessful, O'Malley successfully captured the belt with a second-round TKO victory over ‘Funk Master'.
Most recently, Cejudo fell short in a title eliminator bout against Dvalishvili at UFC 299, while O'Malley emerged victorious against Marlon Vera, successfully defending his bantamweight title in the process.
With a potential O'Malley-Dvalishvili matchup gaining traction, O'Malley sparked further conversation with a recent tweet seemingly aimed at Cejudo. On his social media platform, O'Malley wrote:
"I love beating guys Henry couldn’t beat Jajajaja."
Check out Sean O'Malley's post below:
Chael Sonnen weighs in on Sean O'Malley's underdog status against Merab Dvalishvili
Chael Sonnen expressed surprise regarding Sean O'Malley's underdog status in a potential fight against Merab Dvalishvili.
Fresh off his dominant title defense against Marlon Vera at UFC 299, O'Malley finds himself the betting underdog against Dvalishvili. Sonnen highlighted O'Malley's clinical performance against Vera and said:
"They put out odds [for] O'Malley versus Topuria and they put out odds [for] O'Malley versus Merab. Both of which O'Malley, the star, the 14 million-dollar live gate, didn't lose a single round, one judge even had it 10-8, Saturday! I mean, how the hell is Merab going to beat him? You've got the answer, I've got the answer too."
He added:
"He's going to take him down and keep him there. This is the guy that – he was never taken down once on Saturday. So all of a sudden, we're questioning the guy's takedown defense."
Sonnen criticized the narrative surrounding O'Malley, suggesting the media is attempting to downplay his recent win and diminish his confidence. He believes placing O'Malley in the underdog role might backfire, motivating him further.
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (6:15):
