Sean O’Malley could not throw a single punch between now and UFC 316 and still have a striking advantage over Merab Dvalishvili when they run it back on June 7 in Newark. That’s probably why “Suga” fans were frustrated by this recent video of O’Malley training with former UFC middleweight titleholder, Israel Adesanya.
Dvalishvili scored six takedowns against O’Malley in their UFC 306 title fight.
Maybe “Suga” was taking these comments at face value, though it’s not the first time we’ve heard “The Machine” threaten to stand-and-bang (only to resort to his wrestling). Adesanya, who may or may not make his UFC return at some point later this year, is a former kickboxer with a below-average ground game (like this longtime rival).
To be fair, I don’t think any fighter would turn down a chance to train with a fighter like “The Last Stylebender.”
The general consensus heading into UFC 316 is that nobody wants to see O’Malley get pushed around for another 25 minutes; however, UFC CEO Dana White disputes this claim and insists MMA fans have been clamoring for a surgically-repaired O’Malley to get his revenge.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
