If now-former UFC men’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley didn’t quite look like his usual self at UFC 306 when he lost his title via unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, an injury sustained during his preparations could have been a contributing factor.
Although O’Malley has not used it as any type of excuse for his performance in the days following the loss, the star 135-pounder has a surgery scheduled for Oct. 3 that will keep him out of action into at least the middle of 2025.
“I tore my labrum like 10 weeks ago,” O’Malley explained during an interview with a streamer named Adin Ross earlier in the week. “You have a labrum in both your shoulders and in your hips. I tore my left labrum in my hip so I’ve got surgery. That’s the only reason I’m going to be out for so long.
“The surgery should only take two months to come back from and then it will take a couple of months recovery, so a year’s a long time. Could be six, eight months but I’m kind of just going with the flow. You never know.”
Dvalishvili out landed O’Malley 214 to 49 in total strikes — although it was only an 82 to 47 edge in significant strikes — and he took O’Malley down six times throughout the fight to accumulate more than 10 minutes of total control time.
One of the most significant moments of the fight was in the fifth round when O’Malley hurt Dvalishvili with a prodding kick to the stomach.
The former champ explained while breaking down the fight with his coach Eric Nicksick on his YouTube channel that not being able to capitalize on hurting his opponent “stings” before also noting “the cage felt small” when he was competing at the Sphere.
Perhaps it was the unique venue or the fact his opponent pushes a pace like few others in the sport and nary gives any breathing room when in the cage.
Nicksick said the only slight difference prior to the fight was O’Malley’s weight being a bit lighter than it typically is.
“There was zero excuses. Nothing. I had a good fight camp, had a good weight cut,” O’Malley said. “I felt like I got out-strengthed. Like, I knew what to do in certain positions; I just felt he was just stronger. I felt that strength. I didn’t feel too out-skilled, out-speeded, I felt cardio was good.”
It was the first loss of O’Malley’s career that he suggested doesn’t have an unofficial asterisk beside it.
The 29-year-old’s only other pro loss was a first-round technical knockout loss to Marlon Vera four years ago during which O’Malley sustained a leg injury that hindered his movement. That injury occurred because of a Vera strike so officially there is nothing controversial about it. O’Malley avenged that loss to Vera in his first title defence earlier this year at UFC 299.
O’Malley is officially ranked as the No. 1 contender at bantamweight for the time being with fighters like Umar Nurmagomedov surging in the division.
“(Dvalishvili) had a good grip and was strong on top and I should’ve used more energy to get up and break away. … I shouldn’t’ve tried to conserve my energy for the later rounds,” O’Malley added.