“Different fight this time,” said Sean O’Malley while facing off against Merab Dvalishvili prior to their UFC 316 rematch. But guess what? The fans witnessed the same result in their bantamweight title fight last weekend. ‘Suga’ fell short once again, and unlike last time when the fight went the distance, the rematch saw the former champion getting choked out in the fourth round by the Georgian beast.
Various MMA personalities have made several assessments as to what went wrong with Sean O’Malley. After all, he rejected an immediate rematch to get better. Former UFC and ONE Championship legend Demetrious Johnson joined the conversation, as he highlighted one key mistake that cost the 30-year-old bantamweight. Here’s what he had to say.
Demetrious Johnson explains where Sean O’Malley went wrong
The UFC 306 loss affected Sean O’Malley, prompting him to make some serious life changes. He abstained from almost everything that acted as a hurdle to him getting better at his craft, including abstinence from social media and intake of certain recreational activities. However, when the bell rang last weekend at UFC 316, Demetrious Johnson didn’t really see any change in O’Malley’s game plan in dealing with Merab Dvalishvili.
‘The Machine’ absolutely dominated Sean O’Malley in their second encounter, with almost half of his takedown attempts being successful. Not only that, he had more volume in the striking department than ‘Suga’. On that note, ‘Mighty Mouse’ appeared rather disappointed that O’Malley came into the fight without adjusting his game plan to tackle Dvalishvili’s intensity, even though the former champion had worked on his grappling in training.
“Sean came in with the same game plan he had the first time they fought, right? It almost just picked up right after it was round six,” Demetrious Johnson spoke on his YouTube podcast. “It was just a continuation of round six. Granted, Sean was able to grapple in his camp. He was able to be healthier, maybe a little bit stronger… If that first fight would have kept going from round five, round six, round seven, that’s what just happened last night [at UFC 316].”
UFC 316 in New Jersey Merab Dvalishvili champion, wearing red gloves, celebrates his victory over Sean OMalley blue gloves in the UFC bantamweight title bout during UFC 316 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 7, 2025. NEW YORK NEW YORK UNITED OF AMERICA Copyright: xVANESSAxCARVALHOx
Well, after failing to secure the rematch, Sean O’Malley will probably have to get a win or two to get back to title contention, and he may be aware of it already. Following the submission defeat, ‘Suga’ wasted no time, as he was seen getting back to work immediately.
‘Suga’ is back in the gym
Sean O’Malley really needs to work on his holes because the rematch didn’t really show any difference in his approach. While recognizing that, the former champion immediately returned to training after his last fight. A video clip surfaced on social media showing O’Malley observing his teammates train while sitting on the mat. He seems to be really serious about improving, as he also shared an apology message to his fans for the lackluster attempt at winning back the title.
“All right fellas, we’re back home. Appreciate you guys. Sorry we didn’t get the job done. We’ll be back. Love you guys,” said Sean O’Malley in a video he shared on social media. It was a short message, nothing fancy, which is understandable, given that he failed to beat Merab Dvalishvili twice. And the worst thing is that the 30-year-old was healthier and sharper than before, but it didn’t matter at the end of the day.
Dana White and Co., along with ESPN, appeared to promote Sean O’Malley more than any other fight on the UFC 316 card, as highlighted by fans and enthusiasts on social media. With a rematch wasted, do you think ‘Suga’ can get back to being the superstar that the UFC CEO believes he is? Let us know in the comments down below.
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