Sean O’Malley reacts to ‘Terrified’ Merab Dvalishvili’s title shot offer to Petr Yan after UFC Macau

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley is left flummoxed by Merab Dvalishvili's latest attempt to knock out Umar Nurmagomedov.

Petr Yan defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC Macau on Saturday and then called for a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. It didn't take long for Dvalishvili to respond to Yan's call on his social media pages and pitch a possible booking for March for their rematch.

Yan, a former defending champion, would skip Umar Nurmagomedov for the next title contender if Dvalishvili's rematch materializes. Umar, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, seemed destined for a title shot after defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

But Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov have traded blows on social media for months, with Nurmagomedov accusing Dvalishvili of avoiding a fight. Nurmagomedov expressed his displeasure with Dvalishvili almost immediately after the current champion threw Yan's rematch.

Sean O'Malley believes Dvalishvili's dismissal of Nurmagomedov was calculated, especially after he welcomed Yan's rematch after UFC Macau.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Sean O'Malley and coach Tim Welch react to Merab Dvalishvili's latest antics

On a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow podcast, O'Malley responded to Dvalishvili's latest rejection of Nurmagomedov's coveted title shot.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January… Merab is absolutely terrified of Umar, he doesn't want to fight Umar,” O'Malley said. “Now he wants to fight Petr, he wants to fight me…Petr got 50-45 against Merab!”

O'Malley's coach, Tim Welch, seemed to echo a similar sentiment.

“Just think how exciting and enlightened the division would be if Merab wasn't part of it?” Welch said. “That's no disrespect, the guy is really good at getting into those positions and getting through the fight. But man, it would have been lit.”

O'Malley and Dvalishvili had a heated build-up to their UFC 306 clash, with Dvalishvili threatening to attack Welch ahead of the event. Fortunately, cooler heads seemed to prevail after their fight, but some tension remains.

Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images, Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Merab Dvalishvili continues to downplay Umar Nurmagomedov's accolades

Nurmagomedov is undefeated in his UFC tenure with recent wins over Raoni Barcelos, Bekzat Almakhan and Sandhagen. He has compiled a professional record of 18-0 during his career.

Before defeating O'Malley at UFC 306, Dvalishvili was coming off recent wins over former titleholders Henry Cejudo and José Aldo. In his first fight with Yan, Dvalishvili attempted a UFC record 49 takedowns en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory.

O'Malley is looking forward to a return to the Octagon in the first half of 2025, possibly in an immediate rematch with Dvalishvili. Before falling to Dvalishvili, O'Malley earned the title by defeating Aljamain Sterling and defending it against Marlon Vera.

The UFC's bantamweight division continues to fascinate, largely because of the ongoing drama at the top. We'll likely learn soon whether Dvalishvili will face Nurmagomedov, O'Malley or Yan for his first title defense.

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