Sean O’Malley fell short when attempting to reclaim the bantamweight title in Newark, New Jersey.
O’Malley was submitted by Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316, having lost his title to the Georgian fighter last September.
Despite all the changes that he made in his preparations, O’Malley has been criticized by a former opponent for his performance on June 7.
Dvalishvili’s next challenger, Cory Sandhagen, also questioned O’Malley’s approach after being surprised by his decision to try and move more against a fighter like ‘The Machine’ who has a relentless gas tank.
For ‘Suga’, it’s back to the drawing board once again after taking some time off, which is what he echoed in his first statement since the defeat.
Sean O’Malley sends a brief message to his fans after arriving home following UFC 316 defeat
Despite the disappointing defeat, Sean O’Malley appears to be in relatively good spirits having addressed his fans in a recent video on his Instagram story.
His initial reaction to the result during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan made it clear that while he was obviously upset at how the fight went, he was incredibly grateful for everything he is passionate about in life.
“I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that… I just want to stick around and thank everybody that came out and supported us. If it wasn’t for you guys, this s— wouldn’t be possible and I feel super grateful right now that I get to do this.
“I have a two-week-old at home, a four-year-old at home, and a perfect wife so I’m excited to go home and spend some time with them.”
O’Malley echoed largely the same sentiment in a quick message to the fans after arriving back home in Arizona to be with his family.
The former champion had announced that less than two weeks before fight night, his wife had given birth to their second child and first son.
Though O’Malley is sure to take some time off before planning his return, ‘Suga’ is still going to have his hands away from the Octagon.
“Alright fellas, we’re back home. Appreciate you guys, sorry we didn’t get the job done. We’ll be back, love you guys.”
Sean O’Malley should stay at bantamweight rather than making a drastic change
A lot of the discussion following UFC 316 in regards to Sean O’Malley has been about the next stage of his career and whether he should move up a weight class.
The former champion is in a tough position, as he’s already lost twice to the current champion, which is going to make it very difficult for him to get a third shot at Merab Dvalishvili.
That being said, there are still a lot of names in the division that O’Malley hasn’t fought yet and his defeats to Dvalishvili are his only career losses that he hasn’t avenged.
‘Suga’ is one of the roster’s biggest names so there’s still big fights for him at 135 pounds and at 30-years-old, there’s nothing stopping him from testing the waters at featherweight several years down the line.