Dana White: Sean O’Malley 'Looked Flat' in Loss to Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley has been marketed as a star since his arrival in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

While he has largely delivered on that promise, he couldn’t live up to the hype in the UFC 306 main event on Saturday night. The “Suga” show was derailed at the Sphere in Las Vegas, as he had no answer for the grappling and pressure of Merab Dvalishvili in a unanimous decision defeat in the evening’s championship headliner. O’Malley didn’t find much success until the final frame, when he hurt Dvalishvili with a front kick to the body and continued to target that area for much of the round. By then, it was too late for the MMA Lab product to sway the scorecards in his favor.

“He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t look crisp until the last round,” UFC CEO Dana White said at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference. “He hurt him with that body shot. He knew he hurt him with the body shot and kept going, trying to finish. I looked at the punch stats and there were like six in a couple of rounds.”

All told, Dvalishvili held an 82-to-47 edge in signficant strikes and landed six of 15 takedowns while racking up 10:03 of Octagon control time against his striking minded-foe. White dismissed the notion that the moment was too big for O’Malley.

“I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think he’s one of those kids that lives for moments like this,” White said. “This is what he’s about. He’s that guy. I don’t know if he just got in there tonight and felt flat. Some nights, it’s just is what it is.”

O’Malley, who didn’t appear at the post-fight press conference, released a brief statement on social media following the defeat. Prior to the event, O’Malley stated that a victory over Dvalishvili had the potential to elevate him to the position of being the UFC’s biggest star. It was his second UFC loss in 13 appearances.

“Over promised under delivered,” O’Malley wrote. “Sorry. Love you guys.”

Over promised under delivered. Sorry. Love you guys.

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 15, 2024