UFC icon raises Sean O'Malley concerns ahead of Merab Dvalishvili rematch
O'Malley is just days away from his rematch with Dvalishvili, but UFC legend Henry Cejudo has made a worrying admission about the former bantamweight champion
Former dual-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo has dropped a bombshell about Sean O'Malley's training camp ahead of his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili.
The pair are scheduled to go head-to-head at UFC 316 - set to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark - on Saturday night. 'Suga' is gearing up for his second clash against Dvalishvili after suffering a defeat in their initial meeting last September.
The ex-bantamweight champ, who claimed the undisputed title from Aljamain Sterling in 2023 and successfully defended it a year later against Marlon Vera, finds himself in the challenger's position for the first time in two years. With the fight just around the corner, Cejudo has voiced his concerns on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, revealing that he has heard O'Malley is focusing solely on his jiu-jitsu and neglecting his get-ups.
In the first encounter, Dvalishvili scored six takedowns and had 10 minutes of control time on 'Suga' and was able to control O'Malley for large chunks of the fight. Speaking about the upcoming fight, Cejudo said: 'The biggest thing with O'Malley is, did he formulate his camp correctly? There's a lot of birdies out there. I'm gonna say it, here on Pound 4 Pound.
'He's just working jiu-jitsu. He's not working his get-ups, his stand-ups. He's not investing in his camp. He's not bringing in guys for money…it's true, it's one hundred percent true. [Money] shouldn't be [an issue]. But to him, he just wants to keep everything — I don't know, maybe he's cheap. He just wants to keep everything in house,' Cejudo added. 'When you do that, Kamaru, s**t gets out there. That's the only reason why I know. People, listen to me, bet the house [on] Merab Dvalishvili.'
UFC commentator Joe Rogan also discussed the fight on The Joe Rogan Experience and believes O'Malley may struggle again in the grappling exchanges. "That's an interesting fight. Very interesting fight. I do not know how 'Suga' Sean keeps that guy off of him... He's a f****** animal," Rogan said of Dvalishvili.
Rogan added: "That guy's superhuman. There's no one like him. The cardio that guy has is off the charts. It's just off the charts. I've never seen anything like it. He doesn't get tired. He's full gas, no brakes the entire fight. It's just smothering, overwhelming people. Even [Umar] Nurmagomedov, who's also an animal. He couldn't keep [Dvalishvili] off of him. This m*********** crazy."
O'Malley hasn't stepped into the octagon since their first face-off, but Dvalishvili has. The 135lb champ defended his title earlier this year against Umar Nurmagomedov. Saturday night will also see Julianna Pena back in action as she defends her women's bantamweight title against Kayla Harrison, while a thrilling welterweight clash between Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland is also on the main card.
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