Sean O’Malley knows how stern of a test UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is.
Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will look to notch his third title defense when he takes on Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the UFC 320 co-main event on Oct. 4 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
O’Malley is coming off a submission loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 316 – his second-straight loss to the champion. He says he learned the hard way the Georgian champion is deceptive.
“How do I see that fight playing out? It’s interesting, a striker vs. wrestler matchup,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I fought Merab twice, beat him once, lost to him once, just kidding. Cory’s got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar (Nurmagomedov). He kept his hips high. He was able to scramble very well. I wouldn’t say he really gassed, but he definitely got a little bit tired, whereas Merab, he just doesn’t get tired. He really just doesn’t, and he’s freakishly strong. Very curious to see how those scrambles go. If Cory’s well versed in the 50-50 (position), the leg game.
“So, I’m curious if he will cause scrambles that way, maybe threaten some submissions that way to where Merab gets uncomfortable and maybe shoots less. As a striker, Cory and I have very similar styles in a sense, hard to take down, good timing. Watching Merab on the screen, not having him in front of you, you think he looks kind of sloppy. He looks like you’re going to be able to stuff his shots or not even be there when he shoots, but that little Georgian finds a way under your shots. Even if you don’t throw punches, he finds a way, and he’s got really sneaky timing and good entrances. When he gets a hold of you, I feel like he’s gotten better at getting a hold of people and not letting them up and disengaging.”
O’Malley leans towards Dvalishvili, but won’t count out Sandhagen, who he called one of the most skilled guys in the UFC.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head, I think it’s a f*cking coin flip,” O’Malley added. “I think, if I had to guess, I feel like Merab. If Merab goes out there and grabs a hold of him, I think Cory’s going to be surprised how strong that little Georgian feels. But also, I could be completely wrong. Cory could go out there and hit some beautiful scrambles and completely make Merab look silly.”
