Sean O’Malley is looking sharp ahead of his bantamweight title fight against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 in June.
O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, released footage of his fighter hitting pads with an array of strikes on Wednesday.
O’Malley fights Dvalishvili in a rematch at UFC 316Getty Dvalishvili got the better of O’Malley on the ground in their first meetingGettyBut several UFC fans are hoping that ‘Suga’ has made improvements in a different area for his main event bout with Dvalishvili.
O’Malley is a former bantamweight champion, but he dropped the 135lb title to current king Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September.
He was dominated in spells by the Georgian fighter who was able to control him on the canvas for large periods, utilising his superior wrestling skills to his advantage.
Dvalishvili was successful with six of his 15 total takedown attempts during the five-round fight and secured a unanimous decision win.
Reacting to the new footage, MMA fans agreed that O’Malley must focus on his grappling exchanges against Dvalishvili if he wants to find success.
One took to X and said: “But can he stop a takedown now? I hope so to be honest, looking forward to the fight.”
While another added: “I’m not seeing any takedown defence.”
A third responded: “He was already doing all that before the Merab fight, I hope he trained his takedown defence a lot though.”
Another said: “Standing was never a problem … it’s: can he defend the takedowns and have the motor to go five rounds with Merab?”
And a fifth stated: “He’s always had crispy striking, let’s see how he handles some takedown attempts.”
O’Malley was recorded striking pads with his coach, Tim Welch@TimwelchMTDvalishvili broke UFC legend George St-Pierre’s record for the most takedowns in the promotion’s history during his last victory at UFC 311.
He has 91 takedowns in the UFC, surpassing St-Pierre’s previous record of 90.
After defeating O’Malley, ‘The Machine’ made his first defence of the bantamweight title against the previously undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
But after an incredible five rounds, judges scored the contest 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in favour of Dvalishvili, who was awarded the unanimous decision victory to retain his belt.
O’Malley, meanwhile, won his first UFC title by knocking out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023.
He then defended the bantamweight strap against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera seven months later to avenge his one and only career defeat to the Ecuadorian, before he tasted his second career loss to Dvalishvili.
O’Malley is hoping to reclaim the bantamweight title in June against DvalishviliGettyUFC 316 pay-per-view card
Two title fights at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley – Men’s bantamweight title fight
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – Women’s bantamweight title fight
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix – Bantamweight
Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland – Welterweight
‘Suga’ has quit all forms of social media in preparation for his rematch with Dvalishvili, and has also been spotted training with former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson.
UFC 316 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with Julianna Pena defending her women’s bantamweight title against Kayla Harrison in the co-main event.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Sean O’Malley new training footage emerges and UFC fans are thinking the same thing )
Also on site :
- Flau’jae Johnson’s stepdad Ameen Brooks drops 2-word reaction for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as OKC win Conference Finals vs Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota
- Ex-Goldman Sachs banker gets 2 years in prison for plot to fleece billions from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund
- Diamondbacks option Jordan Lawlar to Triple-A Reno after tough MLB stretch