Sean O’Malley disputes judges scorecards against Merab Dvalishvili: ‘Round 1, 3, and 5, I won that fight’
Sean O’Malley | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Sean O’Malley believes he was robbed by the judges.
This past weekend, O’Malley dropped a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, losing the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 306. In the immediate aftermath, O’Malley accepted his loss, offering “no excuses” for his lackluster performance, but now a few days removed from the event, “Suga” changed his mind.
On Thursday, O’Malley re-watched his fight with Dvalishvili for the first time, live-Tweeting his reaction to the event, and making the case that he should have won the decision by taking Rounds 1, 3, and 5.
Round 1. I won that round 100%!! Based on damage that’s my round.
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
Round 2 def lost. Took very little damage tho
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
Round 3 was closer than round 1 in my opinion. My round.
Up 2-1 going into round 4— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
Round 4 Merabs round for sure. 2-2 going into the 5th
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
Round 5 I won .
I am the champ. God is good. 1,3,5 round I won.
Defending belt against Umar in Vegas June/July.— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
After concluding his rewatch, O’Malley also jumped on a brief Twitter Spaces where he elaborated on why he feels he deserved to win.
“I had not rewatched the fight, because the narrative around this f*cking fight was I got my ass whooped,” O’Malley said. “... I won the first, third, and fifth rounds, and I challenge all you f*cking little dorks that think that I got my ass kicked to go and rewatch that fight... Rewatch that fight, whether you hate me or love me, rewatch the fight, turn the commentary off, and tell me I did not win that fight.
“I won the first, third, and fifth. Oh I’m f*cking fired up right now. I’m the champ! I won! I’m the champ! Where’s my belt?! Get that belt out my suitcase! I’m the champ, baby!...
“Merab is a bitch still! I had him running around, holding his f*cking little gut. The champ is here! The champ is here! Go rewatch that fight. 135 bantamweight champion of the world is still here. F*ck Merab! Let’s go!
“But for real, Round 3 was close. Round 3 and 5, two judges gave it to me. Round 1, in my opinion, was clearly my round. Round 3 was a closer round, I still think it was my round. Round 1, I don’t know how they gave it to Merab. Just look at the stat sheet, he took me down a few times but literally did no damage. Come on now, tell me I’m wrong! Round 1, 3, and 5. I won that fight. It’s as simple as that.”
Aside from changing his tune on the fight, O’Malley also appears to be shifting his position on where he goes from here.
Following the loss, O’Malley revealed a hip injury that requires surgery and with recovery time, he might be out for a full year. But now the former champion appears re-energized, claiming he’ll be back next summer to “defend his belt” against presumptive No. 1 contender Umar Nurmagomedov.
“Merab is f*cking terrified of Umar,” O’Malley said. “Doesn’t want to fight Umar. I don’t know why. Umar is good, don’t get me wrong. But Merab is terrified. He’s not a champ. I’m the champ. I would fight Umar next. I can fight Umar next for the belt. I’m the champ. I should defend my belt against Umar. I have to get surgery Oct. 3, I’ll be back probably June or July. I’m going to come back as quick as possible because I love this shit.
“God it feels good to be the champ again!”
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This is not the first time O’Malley has retroactively dismissed a loss.
O’Malley’s first career defeat came against Chito Vera in 2020 and afterward, “Suga” repeatedly referred to himself as undefeated heading into their rematch, and also claimed he “won” his No-Contest against Pedro Munhoz. And it appears O’Malley intends to do something similar here as he continued to rip Dvalishvili.
“Please, I’m telling you guys, you can’t have Merab as champ,” O’Malley said. “He’s boring as f*ck. I just rewatched the fight. I tried to make it as unboring as possible. I tried getting up, defending — I actually stuffed more takedowns than Henry Cejudo... I had Merab literally holding his [stomach], running, sprinting from me, holding his f*cking guts, praying the fight was over, staring at the clock. Round 1, 3, and 5! The champ is here!”
