‘Delusional’ Sean O’Malley Admits Drawing Inspiration from Max Holloway to Beat Merab Dvalishvili

Former champion Sean O'Malley talks about having a trilogy fight with Merab Dvalishvili to finally conquer the unstoppable Georgian fighter.

‘Delusional’ Sean O’Malley Admits Drawing Inspiration from Max Holloway to Beat Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley believes he can beat Merab Dvalishvili like Max Holloway did against Dustin Poirier (via X)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

With dreams of becoming UFC’s next mega superstar, Sean O’Malley has faced a crushing downfall inside the Octagon. The former bantamweight champion suffered two consecutive defeats against relentless Merab Dvalishvili, denting his once-glowing aura. Despite never being the betting favorite in either bout, O’Malley remains determined to earn redemption and take revenge someday soon.

In their first clash, ‘Suga’ appeared flat and later revealed that a groin injury had hampered his movement and performance badly. Determined for redemption, he pushed hard for a title rematch, which he eventually secured, though fans cried favoritism from the UFC. Before the rematch, ‘Suga’ underwent hip surgery and revamped his fight camp, but even with those changes, he couldn’t secure the victory.

In the rematch, O’Malley was submitted in round three, clearly highlighting the significant skill gap between him and Dvalishvili. Despite another loss, the fighter didn’t lose hope and is determined to turn things around soon. Recently on his YouTube channel, O’Malley expressed strong motivation and spoke openly about his plans to eventually take revenge.

I truly believe that I was going to go out and make Merab look stupid. I’m still so delusional that I still think I can do that. Max Holloway beat Dustin in his third fight, lost the first two. So never say never.

Sean O’Malley via his YouTube channel 

Last weekend at UFC 318, Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway clashed in a brutal war. Holloway was the underdog and showed incredible striking to ultimately defend his BMF title with a dominant unanimous decision win. The victory was even sweeter for Holloway, who avenged two prior losses against Poirier with a statement-making win.

Following the grueling battle, Poirier announced his retirement inside the cage, ending his legendary career with respect and admiration. O’Malley saw the fight live and was hyped after Holloway took the win, and is motivated to do the same against Dvalishvili. On the other hand, the ‘Machine’ is currently scheduled to fight top bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen.

Sean O’Malley predicts Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen 

Merab Dvalishvili promised to be the UFC’s most active champion, now fighting Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320 this year. This marks Dvakishvili’s third title defense of 2025, solidifying his reputation as an unstoppable force with an undefeated championship streak. Sandhagen earned his shot by defeating Deiveson Figueiredo via second-round TKO at UFC Des Moines. 

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen fight prediction
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen fight prediction (via X)

That dominant performance displayed Sandhagen’s striking brilliance, sharp movement, and hunger for gold, securing his rightful place as number-one contender. Going into the fight, Dvalishvili is the obvious betting favorite due to his dominant history against strikers. In his YouTube video, Sean O’Malley also talked about this fight and shared his detailed analysis of who will win. 

Cory’s got really good wrestling scrambles. He did really good against Umar. 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 just he just doesn’t get tired…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.

Sean O’Malley continued. 

UFC 320 will also showcase the highly anticipated title rematch between Alex Pereira and the newly crowned champion Magomed Ankalaev. Pereira enters the fight confident, determined to avenge his previous loss and reclaim the light heavyweight championship once again. Meanwhile, the Russian has boldly predicted an early finish, aiming to knock Pereira out in a brutal way.

Also Read: