Along with being a perpetually dangerous sport, MMA is also the entertainment business. New UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev found that out this past weekend, as his title-winning effort against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 received ample criticism for arguably lacking the latter.
Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley understands both sides of the debate, though he also isn’t among the chorus jumping out of the woodwork to put “Borz” down for a boring showing.
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“I get it,” O’Malley told Uncrowned. “It was also so impressive because we know how good ‘DDP’ is. We know how hard he is to hold down. For Chimaev to do that for 25 minutes and not gas out — I mean, for ‘DDP’ to even be able to come back in the fifth round a little bit and have energy was super impressive. So I was entertained because I know how difficult that is, but also, it’s not like you’re watching Ilia [Topuria] vs. Charles [Oliveira], Alex Pereira, who’s going to go out there and just kill somebody.
“You don’t really want to see Chimaev go out there and do that again to someone else. But I think he’s capable of knocking people out too — he’s definitely capable of putting someone’s lights out that way — and he really is a finisher. ‘DDP’ was just that good to not get finished. It made for a boring casual fight, [but] in the moment, I was enjoying it a bit.”
The contrast between Chimaev and O’Malley as fighters is night and day in almost every possible way. Chimaev’s dominant, unstoppable wrestling game is unlike few others in the sport right now, while O’Malley consistently delivers highlights as a knockout artist. Ultimately, a wrestling-heavy style akin to Chimaev’s was O’Malley’s undoing when he lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili last year.
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But while expectations being placed upon a fighter is a common occurrence, delivering on said expectations is what becomes the tricky part, especially if that fighter reaches the pinnacle of a division.
For O’Malley, his story unfolded in a somewhat opposite fashion to Chimaev, as the latter gained the “future champion” label almost immediately upon reaching the UFC. It wasn’t until O’Malley became UFC bantamweight king with his knockout of Aljamain Sterling two years ago that he seemingly he gained the respect of the wider MMA world and dropped his underdog status against the division’s best.
Yet after suffering back-to-back losses against the current champion Dvalishvili, O’Malley acknowledged that he’s starting to feel some of those similar detractions from the public creep back toward him.
“You put on a certain amount of performances, knock out a certain amount of people — it’s kind of expected out of you, and it’s always [there]. [But] to actually go out there and do that is very difficult,” he said. “So it was kind of nice [before I became champion], people being like, ‘Ah, he’s going to lose,’ and I go out there and knock someone out and they’re like, ‘What the f***?!’ Then it’s like, ‘Ah, but this [next opponent] is the guy.’ Then you go out there and do it again. It does feel good.
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“Coming off two losses, I’m kind of in that position now too [where the doubt is back]. It was to the same guy, it was to the current champ, it was one of the pound-for-pound best in the world right now, but still.”
Sean O’Malley is 0-2 against Merab Dvalishvili after back-to-back title setbacks.
(Ed Mulholland via Getty Images)
Before O’Malley returns to action with hopes of snapping his two-fight skid, he plans to sit back with the rest of his fellow bantamweight contenders to intently watch Dvalishvili’s next defense. At UFC 320, perennial top-ranked 135-pounder Cory Sandhagen steps up to the plate and attempts to halt the champion’s historic momentum.
Despite having felt firsthand exactly how talented Dvalishvili is, O’Malley isn’t expecting Sandhagen to get rolled over in a schoolyard beating.
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“I just don’t count Cory out. He’s one of the most skilled guys in the UFC,” O’Malley said. “He wants it, he’s hungry. This is his chance. You can want to be hungry and have a chance, and then Merab grabs ahold of you and you don’t have an answer for it. So, that’s a possibility too. Merab is fighting back-to-back-to-back, third fight this year, third weight cut. Weight cuts are no joke, weight cuts are hard. They’re not good for you. That could play a role. There’s just so much that goes into it, but yeah, I think there’s a world where it’s very competitive. There’s a world where Cory f***ing lands that flying knee right on his chin. There’s a world Merab dominates. I could see that fight going any which way.”
Ultimately, O’Malley still isn’t sure what his immediate future holds and doesn’t have a dog in the race. For now, he’s still hoping to return in November or December, potentially at the start of 2026 at the latest. He plans to talk to the UFC brass in two weeks, but until then, he’s readying for the comeback trail.
“I don’t care [who wins],” O’Malley said of UFC 320. “May the best men win. I still foresee a future where I knock Merab out, so I’m not necessarily rooting for one guy or the other.”
