Sean O’Malley teases next title defense against Merab Dvalishvili with sly jibe towards Henry Cejudo

The next bantamweight title contender became more evident after a cryptic tweet from Sean O'Malley on X.

Sean O’Malley teases next title defense against Merab Dvalishvili with sly jibe towards Henry Cejudo

Sean O'Malley jibes at Henry Cejudo and hints at fighting Merab Dvalishvili next (via Imago)

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley successfully defended his title at UFC 299. He went against rival Marlon Vera and dominated the fight to earn a unanimous decision win. Now, ‘Suga’ hinted at fighting Merab Dvalishvili next. Although ‘Suga’ didn’t mention his name, he took a shot at Henry Cejudo to point out his next opponent.

In recent tweets, Sean O’Malley unveiled having an ‘incredible’ meeting with the UFC, presumably with Dana White and Hunter Campbell. Jokingly, ‘Suga’ stated he loved to beat fighters that Henry Cejudo couldn’t beat. This pointed out only one name in the bantamweight division, Merab Dvalishvili. Here is what he said in the tweets:

Incredible meeting today with the @UFC. I love beating guys Henry couldn’t beat. Jajajaja.
Sean O’Malley via X
YouTube video

Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo have exchanged teasing words every now and then. As such, ‘Suga’ didn’t miss this opportunity to troll the Olympic medalist for losing to Merab Dvalishvili in a title eliminator. Earlier, he lost a title fight to Aljamain Sterling, whom O’Malley defeated at UFC 292 to become the champion.

FS Video

Since Sean O’Malley called out Ilia Topuria after his win at UFC 299, there was confusion about his next fight. Merab Dvalishvili earned the title shot with his win over Henry Cejudo and his ten-fight win streak. As such, his recent tweets shut the door to Topuria and cleared the air around his return. It is safe to say the bantamweight champion would defend his title against Dvalishvili next.

The rivalry between Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo came out of retirement last year and immediately fought for the bantamweight title. Just before his title announcement, Sean O’Malley won a #1 contender fight against Petr Yan at UFC 276. This created a conflict between the two. Cejudo trash-talked O’Malley backstage at UFC 276 to escalate the situation and instigated him into a fight. Hence, the rivalry between them began.

The rivalry between Sean O'Malley and Henry Cejudo
The rivalry between Sean O’Malley and Henry Cejudo (via Forbes)

Since the two have exchanged barbs on X. Once, Henry Cejudo doubled down on calling the 29-year-old a ‘Walking tampon.’ As such, Sean O’Malley fired back relentless shots at Cejudo when he lost to Aljamain Sterling.

Fast forward, Cejudo had to chase O’Malley due to not having the championship belt. As such, ‘Triple C’ tried to sneak into a title fight again and insulted the champion O’Malley numerous times. But, it failed as he was matched up with Merab Dvalishvili.

In his prediction videos, Henry Cejudo even picked Sean O’Malley’s rivals Aljamain Sterling and Chito Vera to beat him. Further, they took shots regarding PPV numbers and who the star was. Even recently, O’Malley called the double champion a ‘shortest & dumbest champion.’ As such, the rivalry has only intensified over the years.

A fight between them looks unlikely right now. Cejudo has lost two in a row, and O’Malley reigned at the top. But, if situations present, they could settle their beef inside the cage with a grudge match.

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