Sean O'Malley is known for his fighting and, at times, controversial comments. His latest take is sure to draw a lot of attention.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who lost his title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, previously made no excuses and owned up to getting beat. But now that O’Malley has rewatched the fight more than a week later, he is convinced he should’ve been awarded the win – contrary to what many have expressed, including the judges scoring the bout.
“The narrative around this f*cking fight is that I got my ass whooped,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel last week. “I’m going to ask the UFC if they could please post that fight on YouTube. I won the first, third and fifth round. I challenge all you little dorks that think I got my ass kicked to rewatch that fight. I know it’s hard to be non-biased, but rewatch that fight, turn the commentary off and tell me I did not win that fight. I won the first, third, and fifth. Oh, I’m f*cking fired up right now. I’m the champ, I won, go rewatch that fight.”
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) rewatched the fight with coach Tim Welch and his friends, who all agreed in the way he scored the fight for himself. O’Malley was criticized for this, with many claiming he just had “yes men” around him.
In a subsequent video on Monday, O’Malley stayed firm on his stance.
“It’s funny. People are saying, ‘You just have a bunch of yes men around,’ but if you watch Rounds 1, 3, 5 closely, no commentating, I’m not going to talk about it too much, just go watch 1, 3, 5,” O’Malley said. “Rounds 2, 4 I lost, no debate. I 100 percent lost those two rounds but not 1, 3, 5.”
O’Malley is set to have hip surgery on Oct. 3 to address an injury he sustained during camp for his title defense against Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC). He expects to be out of action anywhere from six months to a year.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
