Sean O’Malley has been advised to leave the bantamweight division after losing to UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili twice.
The former UFC Bantamweight Champion is in a weird spot following back-to-back title fight losses to Dvalishvili. Sean O’Malley went the distance against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September where he lost a unanimous decision.
Eight months later, O’Malley lost again to Dvalishvili, this time by submission in the main event of UFC 316.
O’Malley could be out of the title picture for a while with Dvalishvili as champion, putting the UFC superstar’s future into question at 135 lbs.
A former UFC champion who fought across two weight divisions suggests O’Malley do the same after a repeat loss to ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili.
Luke Rockhold says Sean O’Malley should move to the featherweight division
Former UFC and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold thinks the 5’11” O’Malley would make for a good featherweight.
Rockhold left the middleweight division for a fight at light heavyweight against future champ Jan Blachowicz. Ultimately, the move up a weight class didn’t go according to plan for Rockhold, who lost by brutal knockout.
Still, Rockhold thinks a move to featherweight is worth exploring for ‘Suga’.
“O’Malley’s a big guy too,” Rockhold said on The Jaxxon Podcast.
“I’d like to see him go up to 45.
“He could do some weight training and do something different. It’d be very interesting to see.
“O’Malley would be big at 45,” Rockhold said of the former bantamweight champion.
UFC legend Chael Sonnen also said O’Malley could be forced into a featherweight move with the loss to Dvalishvili.
Luke Rockhold thinks Sean O’Malley should avoid rematch with Aljamain Sterling
It’s no secret O’Malley struggled with the wrestling of Merab Dvalishvili.
If O’Malley were to leave bantamweight, he’d be in the same division as former champ and rival Aljamain Sterling again.
Sterling is one of the greatest fighters and wrestlers the bantamweight division has ever seen.
“If you’re O’Malley, that’s the last fight I’m taking right now,” Rockhold said of a potential rematch with Sterling.
“That’s the last fight…
“I’m fighting a striker, dog,” Rockhold added.
O’Malley TKO’ed Sterling to win the bantamweight title at UFC 292 in 2023.
Now ranked #9 in the featherweight division, Sterling insisted he was 50% for the past title fight and called for a rematch with O’Malley following his title fight loss to his teammate Dvalishvili at UFC 316.