‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley is on his way to become the next Conor McGregor of the UFC, as long as he doesn’t let his ego and lucrative deals outside the UFC get in the way. He’s got the charisma, the eccentric look, the skillset, and the discipline to become one of the biggest stars of all time, he just has to stay out of night clubs. And this weekend, September 14, 2024, he takes on Merab Dvalishvili, inside the Las Vegas Sphere, in partnership with Riyadh Season.
To watch the fights in the UAE, click here. The main card begins at 6:00 a.m. on September 15, UAE time.
Dvalishvili is a Georgian juggernaut who needs help taking something down from the top shelf, but you’d be wise to oblige because he’d be prone to throw you through eight cement walls before returning to his wolf infested training camp amidst several other Eastern European mythical creatures. And, as mentioned, although Sean is already a superstar, unlike Jon Jones, who continuously kept one foot inside night clubs and one in the gym, very few, if any, athletes in history have the unmatched talent that man has, so if Sean doesn’t bring his A-game, this could be a nasty night for Suga.
O’Malley vs. Merab pic.twitter.com/D7kS66SpQC
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 13, 2024
Like many a Dagestani wrestling Ace, Dvalishvili is an absolute machine on the ground, boasting the 3rd most landed takedowns in UFC history, and is basically the antithesis to O’Malley’s tall, lanky, striking stance. Yes, O’Malley will sniper the heck out of him with punches and kicks from half way across the octagon, but if you need an example of the Georgian’s durability, check out the video below – bottom line, this is a man you have to destroy in order to defeat.
21 April 2018
Crazy ending sequence Vs Ricky Simón
Merab is deemed to be unconscious at the buzzer.
Ruled a loss via Technical Submission. pic.twitter.com/noffdyiEeZ
— Ocelot MMA (@Ocelot_MMA) March 6, 2023
Sean has been on an absolute tear since he joined the UFC, and recently made up for his one, controversial loss against Marlon Vera by bludgeoning him for 25 minutes straight earlier this year at UFC 299.
However, not too long ago Dvalishvili posted a video on his official Instagram account showing a cut he received in training, just the type of cut that would prevent someone from competing.
Sean was quick to send a contentious tweet: “That little rat better not pull out.”
Dvalishvili responded with a tweet of his own saying, “Calm down, it’s all good. Just a little training injury. Never pulled out of a fight and never will! I’m coming for you, O’Malley. Stronger than ever. Vamos!”
Phew.
Although wrestlers are known to be boring, this Eastern European style of ‘smesh’ wrestling remains the one exception to that rule, so whether or not the fight remains standing or lands on the ground, one thing is for certain, and that’s fireworks. And, if you’re being technical, if Dvalishvili wins, he will make history as the first Georgian born UFC champion. The Georgian Ilia Topuria won the Featherweight championship against Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year in February at UFC 298, but Topuria was born in Germany, and moved back to Georgia at age 7.
UFC 306 continues the lucrative partnership between the UFC and Riyadh Season, and as the PFL will be returning to Riyadh later this month for Francis Ngannou vs Renan Ferreira, it will be exciting to see what events the KSA has in store for next year.
