Sean O’Malley accurately predicted the outcome of the fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo. Dvalishvili dominated the former dual-champion Cejudo and secured a unanimous decision victory on the main card of UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Bantamweight champion O’Malley had chosen Dvalishvili as the winner and thought he delivered a strong performance. Reflecting on the fight during an interview with ESPN on the UFC 298 post-fight show, O’Malley expressed his interest in rewatching it on television to provide a more comprehensive analysis. He acknowledged the rumors of Cejudo’s pre-fight injuries and observed that he appeared fatigued, while praising Dvalishvili’s performance. O’Malley referred to the bout as a decent fight between two smaller fighters.
O’Malley, with a record of 17-1 in MMA and 9-1 in the UFC, is preparing for his first title defense against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299 on March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami. While UFC CEO Dana White has designated Dvalishvili as the top contender for the title, O’Malley is currently focused on his upcoming fight against Vera. He emphasized the need to successfully overcome Vera before considering potential future opponents.
In his rematch against Vera, O’Malley aims to avenge the only loss of his career, which occurred in August 2020. He drew inspiration from Israel Adesanya’s revenge knockout of Alex Pereira at UFC 287, which also took place in Miami. O’Malley recalled Adesanya’s victory and expressed his interest in achieving a similar outcome in his own rematch.
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com