UFC star Sean O'Malley still firmly believes that he is more than good enough to compete with, and defeat, Merab Dvalishvili.
In his two fights against Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O'Malley has come up short - once via decision, and once via submission. As such, the idea that he could beat him in a trilogy bout may seem ridiculous to a lot of people, and even 'Suga' acknowledges that some will roll their eyes at such a suggestion.
Dvalishvili is coming off the back of another impressive victory, this time against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. For Sean O'Malley, of course, if he wants to even come close to a shot at 'The Machine', he'll need to go out there and pick up some wins - which is exactly what he plans on doing.
Sean O’Malley still believes he can beat Merab Dvalishvili
“He’s very, very confident in his striking right now,” O’Malley said of Dvalishvili on his YouTube channel.
“He can be [confident] because either his opponent’s gonna back up, and like, nothing really happens, or they’re gonna stand and try to trade. He’s gonna crack them, fall into a single leg, fall into a double leg, or they’re gonna get cracked with the right hand.
“To beat Merab, you just have to land that shot,” O’Malley explained.
“You have to be able to f—— snipe him.
“And he was getting a little bit more reckless. The more confident he gets into striking, the more gaps it leaves open to be caught. That’s just the only [way]. I don’t see really anyone being [able to beat him].
“I do think I’m the only one… I hate to say it. I hate to f—— say it. I’m the only one that could beat him. Give me a shot at the White House,” O’Malley said.
“I gotta go out there and get some wins. I gotta get some wins. But, I don’t see anyone really beating Merab anytime soon.
“He needs to be clipped, needs to be knocked out and put to sleep to beat him. I just don’t really see anyone other than myself being able to do that.”
Quotes via Bloody Elbow