It seems that Sean O’Malley’s camp for facing Merab Dvalishvili was once again far from perfect.
O’Malley’s hopes of achieving two-time champion status at 135 pounds were dealt a blow by Merab Dvalishvili in Newark this past June.
Dvalishvili first dethroned O’Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024, closing out a highly anticipated event at the Sphere with a dominant five-round display to complete his ascent to the bantamweight mountaintop.
After one successful defense against Umar Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili faced off with O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316. The result second time was even more emphatic, as ‘The Machine’ submitted the American in round two.
In the lead-up, O’Malley had spoken highly of his grappling training, having been limited in that department due to a torn labrum nine months earlier. Now, though, ‘Suga’ says his preparation was far from perfect.
Sean O’Malley claims he broke his toe during UFC 316 fight camp
Much was made of the Montana native’s pre-fight struggles before facing Dvalishvili in 2024. While O’Malley was able to KO Aljamain Sterling while injured, he was unable to repeat the feat before heading for the surgery table weeks after UFC 306 almost 12 months ago.
‘Suga’ suggested there was a night and day difference between his two camps for Dvalishvili ahead of UFC 316.
But during a recent episode of Between Rounds on The MMA Lab YouTube channel, the ex-champ revealed he had actually been training in a boot for six weeks due to a broken toe.
“First Merab fight, I walked in there with a torn labrum,” O’Malley recalled. “The last Merab fight — I never even said anything. It’s been far enough now where I don’t feel like it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s making excuses.’
“I was in a boot from six weeks. I kicked Anthony’s elbow. The guy said I broke a bone inside my left toe and I partially tore the ligaments on the side of it.
“So I was in a boot for the last six weeks,” O’Malley continued. “I hadn’t trained without a wrestling shoe on and tape until I walked in the cage, for six weeks.”
UFC legend tips Sean O’Malley to regain the title in 2026
Having suffered back-to-back losses to Dvalishvili, both of which came in fairly one-sided fashion, O’Malley would appear to be far from another opportunity at the Georgian’s title. But UFC legend Chael Sonnen has boldly predicted ‘Suga’ to be back on the throne sooner than most are expecting.
During an episode of his Good Guy/Bad Guy show on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Sonnen predicted O’Malley to become UFC champion again in 2026 after Dvalishvili leaves the division due to a tough weight cut.
“I’m going to give one to you, and you’re going to wonder where it’s coming from,” Sonnen said when discussing who could win a title next year.
“I believe Sean O’Malley gets his belt back. … I don’t know how long Merab can stay at 135 pounds, that definitely has an expiration date, just that weight class alone.”
“I do believe that O’Malley is the star of that division, absent Merab,” Sonnen added.