Sean O’Malley has been making some big changes during his preparations for UFC 316 where he will try to reclaim the bantamweight title.
Some have suggested that this will give O’Malley an edge over Merab Dvalishvili in their rematch on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey.
‘Suga’ and his team are confident that after battling through injuries ahead of the first fight, O’Malley is in a far better position the second time around.
Adjusting the way that they’ve prepared for the fight isn’t the only new introduction to O’Malley’s life in recent times following the birth of his son less than two weeks out from fight night.
The UFC star has also confirmed that there will be a change regarding his corner team for UFC 316 with the 30-year-old making something happen that he’s been wanting to pull off for some time.
Sean O’Malley announces that for the first time, his father will be in his corner for UFC 316
As always, Sean O’Malley will make the walk to the Octagon on June 7 alongside his long-time friend and head coach, Tim Welch.
However, there will also be a new presence in his corner this time around after the challenger confirmed in an interview with ESPN MMA that his father will be by his side.
‘Suga’ has placed a lot of emphasis on removing outside distractions ahead of this huge rematch which would impact his future in the bantamweight division.
Therefore, it’s somewhat surprising to hear that for this fight, he’s changing his corner team when you’d expect him to try and keep things the same so that he can focus on the performance and nothing else.
O’Malley explained his decision during the interview, stating that this is something that he’s wanted to do for a long time but the right time never arrived.
He believes that UFC 316 was the correct moment to pull the trigger on having his own family experience the bright lights of a UFC title fight.
“It’s his 60th birthday tomorrow night, June 7th. So, I thought that was a great, I’ve always kind of wanted him to experience this and it never just felt right. June 7th, turn 60, I get the belt back. Just makes sense.”
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Sean O’Malley echoes his stripped back preparations in his final thoughts before fight night
At the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 316, Sean O’Malley delivered one final message which was very to the point.
Fans have stated all fight week that the challenger looks far more dialed in than he has in the past and this was certainly the case during his final face off with Merab Dvalishvili before they meet inside the Octagon.
When given the mic by Joe Rogan, O’Malley laid out his last few thoughts on the matchup.
“Too sharp, too fast, too focused, and new!”
It looks like O’Malley and his team have put a lot of work into becoming totally zoned in on this fight after what happened last time.
The question is whether this new and improved version of the former champion is good enough to dethrone ‘The Machine’.