Sean O'Malley already has a slew of top bantamweight contenders wanting a piece of him after UFC 306.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his 135-pound title to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s Noche UFC main event at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Following his title loss, O’Malley was immediately mocked by Henry Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who previously said he’d stick around at bantamweight to fight O’Malley.
“Hey O’Methyl…You wanted to be the next Conor McGregor-well now you are. Neither of you bums can defend a takedown. I’m teaching ‘Wrestling for Cokeheads’ at 8 AM. See you in the morning. @SugaSeanMMA.”
Hey O’Methyl…You wanted to be the next Conor McGregor-well now you are. Neither of you bums can defend a takedown. I’m teaching “Wrestling for Cokeheads” at 8 AM. See you in the morning. @SugaSeanMMA
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 15, 2024
Also taking a shot at O’Malley is former champion Petr Yan (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who lost a controversial decision to “The Suga Show” in October 2022.
“I never considered Sean a real champion because he was gifted decision against me in Abu Dhabi. Rematch season is open, so see you soon .”
I never considered Sean a real champion because he was gifted decision against me in Abu Dhabi. Rematch season is open, so see you soon
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) September 15, 2024
Cory Sandhagen’s approach was a more respectful one, urging O’Malley to give the fans a striker’s delight matchup. Sandhagen (17-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is coming off a main event loss to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC on ABC 7 in August.
“Watching Merab win the title realizing you get Sandman v Suga because of it
.
Congrats, Merab. You earned it, man. O’Malley, time to give the people what they want. I don’t promise to not kiss you.”
O’Malley seemed to take his loss in stride, posting a video of him working on his takedown defense on his Instagram. O’Malley was taken down six times by Dvalishvili and controlled for 10 minutes.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
