Шон О’Мэлли өөрийн байр суурийг баталгаажуулж, Петр Ян эсвэл Мераб Двалишвили нарын хэн нэгэнтэй тулалдах нь UFC-ийн хувьд хамгийн зөв шийдвэр гэж үзэж байна.
Шон О’Мэлли UFC-д дараалан хоёр ялалт байгуулсны нэг нь Айман Захабиг хоёрдугаар раундад буулган авсан амжилт юм. Энэхүү ялалтын дараа тэрээр 135 фунтын жинд аваргын бүсний төлөөх гол өрсөлдөгчдийн нэг болсон ч одоогоор Петр Ян болон Мераб Двалишвили нарын хооронд гурав дахь тулаан болох магадлал өндөр байна. О’Мэлли энэ тулаан албан ёсоор зарлагдаагүй байгаа нь бэртэл гэмтэлтэй холбоотой байж болзошгүй гэж үзэж байгаа юм.
Тэрээр Петр Яныг бэртлээ бүрэн эдгээсний дараа Мерабтай дахин тулалдах нь зүйтэй гэж үзэж байгаа ч өөрийгөө аваргын бүсний төлөөх тулаанд илүү тохиромжтой нэр дэвшигч хэмээн тодорхойлжээ. О’Мэлли 2022 онд Петр Яныг ялж байсан туршлагадаа үндэслэн тэдний хоорондох даага нэхэх тулаан нь хөнгөн жингийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн том үйл явдал болох болно гэж онцолсон байна.
Мераб Двалишвилитэй хоёр удаа тулалдаж ялагдсан ч О’Мэлли түүнийг ялах бүрэн боломжтой гэдэгтээ итгэлтэй байна. Хэрэв тэрээр Мерабыг ялж чадвал өөрийн карьертаа Петр Ян, Алжамейн Стерлинг, Мераб Двалишвили гэсэн жингийнхээ түүхэн дэх шилдэг тулаанчдыг бүгдийг нь ялсан амжилтыг тогтоохыг зорьж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 22: (L-R) Petr Yan of Russia and Sean O’Malley talk after their bantamweight fight during the UFC 280 event at Etihad Arena on October 22, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Sean O’Malley knows he might not be next for the title, but if he’s not, he thinks it’s a mistake. The UFC has too much to lose.
At UFC White House, O’Malley picked up his second consecutive win, stopping Aiemann Zahabi in the second round. The win put O’Malley on the short list of title contenders at 135 pounds, but there’s just one problem: he’s not at the top. A trilogy fight between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili appears to be next, though the bout has yet to be announced, and O’Malley thinks he knows why.
“I’ve been hearing Petr and Merab are going to fight, the rematch is going to happen, for a long time,” O’Malley told the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “Still nothing booked. I don’t know if it’s Merab’s nose or Petr’s back. One of those guys is obviously holding it up, and I don’t think it’s Merab. I think Merab would fight with his arm cut off. So I think Petr is probably dealing with some injuries.
“He’s the champ, and if he’s going to come back and rematch Merab, he needs to be — I fought Merab knowing I was getting surgery after with a torn labrum. Still, it was a close fight, and then I get the surgery and fight again seven months later, just wanting to be back, just wanting the belt back. You can’t fight Merab on half-ass camps. You need to be fully healthy to fight Merab, and Petr probably knows that, so he’s taking his time, as he should. He’s the champ, and you don’t want to go out there and lose the belt because you did something you shouldn’t do. So I get it.”
Yan and Dvalishvili first fought in 2023, with Dvalishvili winning a lopsided decision. The two rematched for the bantamweight title in December, with the inverse happening. But since then, there’s been no indication of when the third fight might take place, and over the past six months, O’Malley has staked his claim for a title shot. A claim which he believes is made all the stronger by having beaten Yan back in 2022.
“If they want me vs. Petr next — I do think me vs. Petr Yan 2, rematch is the biggest fight in bantamweight history,” O’Malley said. “I think it’s the biggest one you could possibly make right now, and the UFC would be risking [it by] making Merab vs. Petr.”
The biggest blocker for O’Malley is that he has a pair of losses to Dvalishvili, and should he get a title shot and reclaim the belt, a third fight with Merab is not the most appealing outcome for the UFC or for fans. But for O’Malley, that’s the fight he really wants, and he believes he could deliver a different outcome with one more crack at Dvalishvili.
“Part of me, I know, truly, I can beat Merab,” O’Malley said. “I know how the last two fights went. I know I can beat Merab, and I know if I go out there and do beat Merab, I’m undefeated. I’ve beat everybody I’ve ever fought. … I know I can go out there and beat Merab, and that would be huge for my career, because then I have beat Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling, and Merab, the three greatest bantamweights of all-time.
“So, that’s definitely on my radar. And I know that fight is not necessarily — no one gives a f*ck about it. No one really wants to see it. I’ve got to maybe go out there, beat Petr. There’s a way to it, but that’s kind of what’s on my mind.”
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Between the Links.
PFL press conference.
Alexander Volkanovski talks about UFC White House.
MixedMollyWhoppery on Conor McGregor.
Mike Heck on Submission Radio.
Jon Jones.
As far as Colby promos go, this isn’t that bad.
President Chael?
This is in Northern Ireland, but still funny.
Look at this man skating.
Pretty sure this number came from you on a podcast you did.
EOY.
UFC Baku is a pretty good card. Looking forward to it. Enjoy, and see y’all next week.
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