The former UFC bantamweight champion is in need of a big comeback to get back on track.
For the first time in his career, Sean O’Malley is coming off of consecutive defeats following his losses to Merab Dvalishvili.
While O’Malley still remains one of the UFC’s biggest stars, he hasn’t had an answer for the division’s current champion in either of their recent meetings.
‘Suga’ may be one of the most dangerous strikers on the roster but he wasn’t able to effectively implement his gameplan when facing ‘The Machine’.
O’Malley isn’t necessarily planning a big reinvention for his return but a fellow top fighter at bantamweight believes that some key adjustments are necessary.
Cory Sandhagen believes that Sean O’Malley needs to make technical adjustments to not be so reliant on his striking
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Cory Sandhagen gave his thoughts on Sean O’Malley’s defeat to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 and whether he can bounce back.
‘The Sandman’ said that he does believe that ‘Suga’ has the ability to make some necessary changes to his style that will allow him to compete with the top fighters in the division.
“I think he does [address his flaws]. O’Malley kind of gets labeled as a star first before he gets labeled as a good fighter. I think O’Malley’s a really, really good fighter. He’s a super athletic guy, also, so when you’re that athletic, you’re capable of making a lot of changes in your game and stuff.”
O’Malley made a lot of changes during his preparations for the rematch with Dvalishvili as he looked to be even more dialed in than in the past.
While a lot of these adjustments were likely positives, it wasn’t enough to make the difference when he tried to reclaim the 135-pound title.
Sandhagen believes that in order for O’Malley to climb back up the ladder, where they could potentially meet somewhere down the line, ‘Suga’ needs to be a more dynamic fighter who isn’t so reliant on one skillset.
“I think he just has to change a few things, not like in his personal life but in his technical fighting style of stuff and then just be able to grapple with these guys that are really good grapplers,” Sandhagen said.
“He got away for a long time just being able to one-shot, knock people out. Now he’s facing some for real well-rounded, really good fighters and you just can’t be a one-trick pony anymore.”
Cory Sandhagen proving successfully in his next fight would be big for Sean O’Malley
Following two losses to the current champion, it’s hard to imagine how Sean O’Malley gets himself back into the title picture at this stage.
However, that could change in an instant if Merab Dvalishvili loses the bantamweight title to the opponent that many expect to be his next challenger, Cory Sandhagen.
O’Malley is one of the few top names that Sandhagen hasn’t already faced and with ‘The Sandman’ targeting the 135-pound gold, ‘Suga’ is sure to have a keen eye on that matchup.
“I know Merab was saying sometime in November or December,” Sandhagen told MMA Fighting. “That works for me, too. These things take a little bit of time or whatever but I’m pretty confident. I feel good about it and I’m super excited to finally get my title shot.”