When it comes to how disappointing his display against UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili was last September, Sean O’Malley doesn’t need telling.
O’Malley had his brief rule over the 135-pound division ended in emphatic, one-sided fashion seven months ago inside the Sphere, a short while on from his sole successful title defense.
While he comfortably got the better of Marlon Vera across five rounds, “Sugar” was on the receiving end of a lopsided decision when he ran into the charging Dvalishvili.
Despite the nature of that result, O’Malley has received an immediate rematch in his return from injury, which is set to headline the UFC 316 pay-per-view in Newark this June.
And during an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, the Montana native made it clear that he’s under no illusion when it comes to the grappling improvement he needs to make ahead of their redo.
“I literally grappled more today than I did that entire last camp,” Sean O’Malley said. “I know I can wrestle better than I showed in that last fight. That was borderline embarrassing.”
