Sean O’Malley is ready to fight anyone the UFC throws at him on Saturday.
Just days away from his first title defense in UFC 299’s main event, O’Malley’s sole focus remains on Marlon Vera, but Merab Dvalishvili is set to arrive in Miami on Wednesday to serve as the backup fighter just in case disaster strikes. Dvalishvili is just weeks removed from a dominant win over former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, which made him the new No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division.
Despite Dvalishvili’s vastly different grappling-heavy style compared to Vera’s heavy-handed approach, O’Malley promises he won’t blink if he has to face Dvalishvili on short notice.
“One hundred percent [I will fight him on Saturday],” O’Malley said during UFC 299 media day. “Yeah, 100 percent.”
Even before Dvalishvili secured a win over Cejudo, he could’ve easily slotted in as O’Malley’s next opponent, however the promotion opted to give the title shot to Vera instead.
O’Malley gave Dvalishvili credit on a job well done in his recent fight, but he’s still not ready to fully cement him as the next person in line the title.
“He had a great performance too,” O’Malley said of Dvalishvili’s win. “Henry didn’t look great by any means, but Merab did what he does. He almost gets knocked out and then wins. It was impressive. Very well could be next. I like having my options open. He could be [next.]”
Following Dvalishvili’s win, Cejudo initially hinted at retirement, but then ultimately decided to return to compete again because he didn’t want his career to end on that sour note.
O’Malley has engaged in some ugly back-and-forth exchanges with Cejudo over the years, but the reigning UFC bantamweight champion doesn’t really hold any ill will towards him. When it comes to fighting again, O’Malley isn’t sure that’s the best idea for Cejudo after suffering back-to-back losses, but he won’t tell anyone to call it a career.
“I mean, I don’t want to kick him when he’s down,” O’Malley said of Cejudo. “He’s not doing too good. He didn’t look good at all. I wouldn’t recommend [fighting again] but it’s his life to choose what he does with it.”
As far as the stylistic matchup with Dvalishvili in a potential fight, O’Malley actually felt as if Dvalishvili’s teammate and close friend, former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling, was going to serve as a bigger obstacle to him before they were matched up this past August.
On that night, O’Malley dismantled Sterling inside two rounds before scoring a knockout to claim the bantamweight title and become a UFC champion. That being said, O’Malley isn’t viewing Dvalishvili as an easy fight in the same way he isn’t looking past Vera on Saturday.
“I thought Aljamain Sterling was the hardest matchup for me in the division and I put his lights out in two rounds,” O’Malley said. “I think Merab’s definitely up there. Everybody in the top 10, no one is an easy fight. Chito is not an easy fight. Merab’s a tough fight. Chito’s a tough fight. [Ilia Topuria] is a tough fight. They’re all tough fights.”
Whether it’s Dvalishvili next or someone else, O’Malley plans to retain his title and become a long-reigning champion in the UFC, but he’s not getting too far ahead of himself just yet.
Ideally, O’Malley would love to become one of the most dominant fighters on the planet, but he can’t run towards a second title defense until he walks through Vera.
“I’m just going with the flow right now,” O’Malley said. “I’ve learned firsthand when I fought Chito the first time that anything can happen. I always knew that, but nothing ever happened to me where it was real.
“Anything can happen, I’m not looking past him, but for fun, you want to say what happens in the next 5, 10 years? I’d love to never lose. Just going with the flow.”
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