Sean O’Malley can become the third two-time champion in UFC bantamweight history at UFC 316. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Christian Petersen via Getty Images)
Sean O’Malley fully expects to make history at UFC 316 in his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili.
UFC’s big debut at the Las Vegas Sphere didn’t go O’Malley’s way this past September, as he lost his title in a unanimous decision against Dvalishvili. The former UFC bantamweight champion has been vocal since about the torn labrum he suffered 10 weeks out from fight night; he had surgery in the immediate aftermath and believes he probably shouldn’t have taken the fight. Ahead of UFC 316, however, O’Malley has flipped his perspective to the more positive side, seeing his loss as a boost to the magnitude of the rematch on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey.
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“There’s two ways you can go from taking a loss,” O’Malley said Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” in his first public interview since the Dvalishvili loss. “You can either go up or down. I wanted to go up. The camp, the whole fight didn’t go as planned, but I feel like it’s going to make this one that much sweeter. I’m going to be a massive underdog. People aren’t going to expect what I know I’m capable of on June 7, so it’s going to make it that much sweeter.
“I had to wait three and a half years, whatever it was, to prove that the first [Marlon] ‘Chito’ [Vera] fight wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out. This one, I didn’t have to wait nearly as long, but I’m excited to go out there and do something similar in the rematch with Merab.”
As the biggest star in the current UFC bantamweight division, O’Malley, 30, as a champion felt like the best-case scenario for the promotion, however his reign was relatively short, as O’Malley only scored one successful title defense in his Vera rematch in March 2024.
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If O’Malley regains the title, he’ll join his fellow former champions Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw as the only multiple-time bantamweight titleholders in UFC history. But the path — or lack thereof — to O’Malley’s second opportunity has soured many fans, who’ve labeled him as undeserving of an immediate rematch with Dvalishvili considering that O’Malley hasn’t fought since his loss.
O’Malley has avoided the noise by staying off social media in 2025, but he has a clear message for those who are upset about the fight.
“Don’t watch,” he said bluntly.
“Saturday night, June 7, f***ing watch your reality TV show. Don’t watch the fight.
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“I do [get the criticism], 100%,” O’Malley added. “That last fight, I don’t think a lot of people went back and truly rewatched it, because it’s not one of those fights that’s super worth rewatching. I do think the second time watching it, you realize it is a little bit closer than the first time you watched it live.
“If they’re not interested, don’t watch it,” he concluded. “But when I go out there and win, I guarantee people are going to rewatch it — or at least rewatch the finish, if there’s a finish.”
O’Malley said he believes he’s rewatched the Dvalishvili loss from UFC 306 about five times in total, with the latest rewatch coming this past week. Two months out from the rematch at UFC 316, O’Malley is already feeling supremely prepared and promises that the sequel will be much different.
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“I know I’m capable of beating Merab,” O’Malley said. “I wouldn’t want this rematch [otherwise]. That last fight, it was close and it wasn’t. The second and fourth round were the rounds he dominated. I won on the judges’ scorecards the third and the fifth rounds. The first round, in most peoples’ eyes, they said Merab won that fight. If you look at damage, I believe I did more damage in that fight.
“I wouldn’t have wanted this fight, I wouldn’t have asked for this fight, I wouldn’t have accepted this fight if I didn’t know I could go out there and beat Merab.
“Just today, this morning practice that I had, I grappled more today than I grappled last fight camp for Merab,” he added. “I know [how] that sounds. We did seven six-minute rounds today, grappling hard. Hard, hard. Picking the hardest guys, just straight grappling today. I wasn’t able to do that once last camp.”
Although O’Malley admits to the hindrances that came with his title defeat, he’s not entirely pessimistic about the performance. The former champ still believes his fight camp for the Sphere card was great — just for what he was physically able to do. He recalled feeling as good as he could, considering his injury.
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But O’Malley said he’s “truly” healthy now and hopes this will allow for a lengthy career. In a way, he’s had a new lease of life since UFC 306 and feels like everything is working out as it should.
“As long as the body holds up, I’d like to fight as long as I could,” O’Malley said. “[Age] 37, 38, 40 — if I could [get to] 40 healthy and still f***ing go out there and win fights, I want to do this until the wheels fall off, until I absolutely can’t anymore. Love this sport, love competing. I’m just very grateful to the UFC to be getting this rematch so fast.”
