“He could put your f**king lights out!” Sean O’Malley prefers ‘scary’ Ilia Topuria over Merab Dvalishvili despite UFC 298 performance

Merab Dvalishvili dominated the former two-division UFC champion, Henry Cejudo, at UFC 298. He secured a unanimous decision win to solidify his status as the next title challenger in the bantamweight division. However, it didn’t impress the champion, Sean O’Malley. As such, he eyed a matchup with the newly crowned featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria.

In his recent appearance on the MMA Hour show, Sean O’Malley pondered upon his next opponents. As such, he named Ilia Topuria as his preferred opponent alongside Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen. So, ‘Suga’ claimed Topuria was a scarier opponent than ‘The Machine’ and called him out. However, he was open to fighting Dvalishvili saying he was ‘beatable’. Here is what he said:

There's Merab (Dvalishvili), there's Cory (Sandhagen), There's Ilia (Topuria). Those three are all potential for next...Merab's very beatable. Merab's got a crazy gas tank, good wrestling he's a very dangerous opponent. But, when I think of a scary opponent, that's Ilia. Ilia gives me the he could put your fu****g lights out and change your life. 

Sean O’Malley (via The MMA Hour)

Earlier, UFC CEO, Dana White, confirmed Merab Dvalishivili would get the next title shot at the 135lbs division. However, Sean O’Malley seemed to have other plans. Further, he stated he had a laser focus on his upcoming fight at UFC 299 and didn’t want to think about ‘what’s next?’ Nonetheless, one thing was sure, ‘Suga’ preferred the super fight with Ilia Topuria to defending his title against ‘The Machine’.

Sean O’Malley faces Marlon Vera at UFC 299 for his first title defense. As such, these were all possibilities only if ‘Suga’ came out victorious. However, Merab Dvalishvili had earned his spot as the top bantamweight contender. Currently, he was on a ten-fight win streak and won his fight against Henry Cejudo fairly easily. As such, he wanted to become a champion soon.

Sean O’Malley makes his case to fight Ilia Topuria before Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the UFC right now. For some time, he has been calling out for a super fight with another star on the rise, Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’ just won the UFC gold at UFC 298, making the potential champion vs. champion fight possible.

However, UFC 298 also saw Merab Dvalishvili, the #2 ranked bantamweight make his statement to fight ‘Suga’ next. As such, O’Malley looked at the current scenarios and gave his thoughts.

On the MMA Hour show, Sean O’Malley compared the storyline of fighting Merab Dvalishvili versus Ilia Topuria. He stated the El Matador matchup excited him more because they both knocked out their divisional greats to win the championships.

Further, he dismissed Dvalishvili’s win in UFC 298, concerning Henry Cejudo’s age. So, he wanted to face Topuria next in an attempt to claim the two-divisional champion status. Here is what he said:

I knocked out Aljo, bantamweight goat in round two. Henry's like 42 or something. It looked horrible. I would've knocked out Henry about four times that fight. And then, Ilia goes out there and knocks out Volkanovksi, the greatest featherweight of all time, round two...I'm trying to callout a fight that I'm just like exciting, like 'Holy Sh**!'

Sean O’Malley (via The MMA Hour Show)

However, Sean O’Malley also addressed the backlash he received among the MMA fans for his callout to Ilia Topuira. So, he said he was open to fighting anyone but just wanted to put the word out there and call his shot. Anyway, ‘Suga’ would be making his return next month to face Marlon Vera in UFC 298. The Topuria or Merab Dvalishvili matchup, all depended on the result of that fight.

In case you missed it:

• “I will say this is MAGA!” Irish star vows to DRAG Donald Trump’s favorite fighter Colby Covington and hand brutal beating
• “What a dumb sport we play” – Dan Hooker explains BIZARRE reason to laugh when teammate Alexander Volkanovski was knocked out cold at UFC 298

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