Following Sean O’Malley’s loss to Merab Dvalishvili, it would appear that Henry Cejudo’s criticisms of O’Malley’s fight camp may be true.
During an interview before the fight, Cejudo said that O’Malley was cutting costs in his preparations.
“I think the biggest thing with O’Malley is, did he formulate his camp correctly?” Cejudo said. “There’s a lot of birdies out there. I’m going to say it here on Pound 4 Pound: He’s just working jiu-jitsu. He’s not working his get-ups, his stand-ups. He’s not investing in his camp, he’s not bringing in guys for money. In Arizona, they have big mouths.”
“It’s true, it’s 100-percent true,” Cejudo continued. “It [money] shouldn’t be [a concern], but to him, he just wants to keep everything. I don’t know, maybe he’s cheap. He just wants to keep everything in house. When you do that, sh*t gets out there. That’s the only reason why I know some of these things. People, listen to me: Bet the house, Merab Dvalishvili via damn decision, 50-45.”
Merab Dvalishvili Steamrolled Sean O’Malley
Well, it appears that Cejudo was right because O’Malley flat out got steamrolled.
Dvalishvili treating O’Malley like a doll 😂 pic.twitter.com/c8Vt9sxBRc
— DQ Majestic Bets (@DQMajesticBets) June 8, 2025
O’Malley just couldn’t keep up with Dvalishvili, who overwhelmed him and seemed to have unending cardio. In the deciding round, O’Malley was taken down three of four times before being submitted via a nasty choke/neck crank.
Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili dominated Sean O’Malley, retained his UFC belt, and shared a handshake with President Trump!
Merab’s story is a true example of the “American Dream.” Born and raised in poverty, Dvalishvili first came to the US working in construction. And he… pic.twitter.com/6hQtIQn9eT
— Anna Gvarishvili (@AnnaGvarishvili) June 8, 2025
Dvalishvili said that O’Malley made the proper adjustments, but it wasn’t enough.
“He was well trained, he was well prepared, and I knew that he was going to make changes because, hey, every time I lost I made big changes and I learned from it,” an overjoyed Dvalishvili said post-fight. “But I’m getting better and better. I wasn’t showing this technique [before] and I have more tools in my pocket I’m still working on, and then little by little I will show. Now it’s my time.”
Following the fight, O’Malley said he “didn’t feel like it was going to go like that.”
Sean O’Malley’s instant reaction to the Merab loss
“I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that… Merab’s a motherf***er.” #UFC316pic.twitter.com/NjqdnvSapX
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 8, 2025
If I were O’Malley, I’d start thinking about moving up a weight class because Merab’s got his number.
