Sean O’Malley’s promises of a first-round knockout did not materialize at UFC 306, which saw the then-champion lose his title. UFC CEO Dana White chimed in.
UFC Noche saw Merab Dvalishvili challenge O’Malley for the bantamweight title. Despite closing the underdog, Dvalishvili put on a shut out performance against the champion. Using his patented pace and wrestling to neutralise anything that O’Malley had to offer – dominating him over 5 rounds.
The end result was a unanimous decision victory for Merab Dvalishvili, making him the 2nd Georgian UFC champion.
UFC CEO Dana White slates Sean O’Malley’s UFC 306 Performance
UFC CEO Dana White was not enamoured by O’Malley’s performance on Saturday night. Which he made evident at the post-fight press conference.
“He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp, he didn’t look crisp – until the last round.” he told reporters.
During the final minutes of round 5, O’Malley seemingly hurt Dvavishvili with a teep kick to the body, which the Georgian visibly reacted to. Attempts to capitalise upon this fell short, leading to the round to close out uneventfully.
“He hurt him with the body shot, he knew he hurt him with the body shot and he kept going trying to finish. But I looked at the punch stats, it was like 6 in a couple of the rounds.”
Referring to the fight statistics, White indicated that inactivity was one of the problems O’Malley had during the fight.
Official UFC statistics cite O’Malley landing a mere 47 significant strikes over the course of 25 minutes. Dvavishvili on the other hand, landed 82, with over 10 minutes of control time.
Did O’Malley Fly Too Close to the Sun?
Reporters continued to query O’Malley’s performance by questioning White as to why the champion fell flat. Implying that the high expectations may have impacted him.
The UFC CEO Dana White was reluctant to buy into this theory however, pointing out that 306 was the type of environment that ‘The Suga Show’ embraces.
“I think that he is one of those kids that lives for moments like this, I mean this is what he’s all about. He’s that guy. I don’t know if he just got into there tonight and fell flat – it is what it is.”
Aside from the spectacle and selling point that was the Las Vegas Sphere, a lot of hype around UFC Noche was built around the stardom of Sean O’Malley.
Comparisons between Conor McGregor and O’Malley have been drawn by White, the media and himself. Speaking to the level of anticipation building around the bantamweight.
When it came to delivering on the biggest stage of career, ‘Suga’ underdelivered. The loss on Saturday night will set him back for the time being, but only sets us up for the inevitable return.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
