Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili didn’t get the chance to get too close following the UFC 306 pre-fight press conference because both champion and challenger had plenty to say.
Following a lively question and answer session on stage, O’Malley removed his jacket — the same one that Dvalishvili took from him back at UFC 288 — and he marched towards his opponent with UFC CEO Dana White making sure nobody got too close.
O’Malley immediately began shouting at Dvalishvili and it appeared he was promising to deliver a knockout, which is the same prediction he gave during the press conference.
“I think I’m going to get it done the way I always get it done,” O’Malley said about the way he plans to finish Dvalishvili. “I’m going to put this dude face first.”
Later in the press conference when O’Malley said that he needed a knockout to move closer to an eventual crossover into boxing with a potential fight against Gervonta “Tank” Davis, it was Dvalishvili who answered back.
“Keep dreaming,” Dvalisvhili shouted. “Nobody knocked me out yet. Keep dreaming Sean O’Malley. You don’t knock out Chito Vera [in your last fight].”
That earned him a snide response from O’Malley with a reminder about how he won the bantamweight title from Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling.
“I did knock out Aljo though, didn’t I?” O’Malley said. “That was lucky as f*ck. I keep getting lucky. It’s crazy. Every fight I get lucky.. Somehow, some way, I get lucky.”
