Sean O’Malley is embracing the underdog role.
In September, O’Malley’s reign as the bantamweight champion came to an end after Merab Dvalishvili delivered a dominant five-round performance at UFC 306 to dethrone the colorful fan favorite. Now, ‘Sugar’ is back and determined to retake the 135-pound throne this Saturday night when they run it back in the UFC 316 headliner in Newark, New Jersey.
Unsurprisingly, O’Malley is a sizeable underdog against the defending champ, who is favored 3-to-1 to keep his bantamweight crown and go two up on the ex-champ.
Sean O’Malley would much rather be the underdog than the favorite
With practically everyone already counting him out in the rematch, O’Malley sees his return to the Octagon as an opportunity to prove the naysayers wrong and take back his title in highlight-reel fashion.
“I’m counted out heavily this fight, just like the Aljo fight. I’d rather be in this position than everyone saying, ‘You’re going to smoke this dude.’ That would suck, because fighting is so unpredictable,” O’Malley said during a recent interview on Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel. “I think Merab has way more pressure on him. Everyone’s like, ‘You beat him nine months ago, how’s he supposed to beat you now?’ I know I can beat Merab. I know I will beat Merab. I get to go and prove that to the world.”
UFC 316 will be O’Malley’s first time competing inside the Octagon since coming up short against Dvalishvili late last year.
As for Dvalishvili, ‘The Machine’ added another impressive win to his resume in January, handing Dagestani star Umar Nurmagomedov his first career loss as a mixed martial artist.
