Suffice to say, UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley and his team haven’t sought the aid of Henry Cejudo ahead of their upcoming showdown with Merab Dvalishvili…
O’Malley is set to make his second defense of the title later this month inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere in Las Vegas, where he’ll headline the second edition of Noche UFC six months on from his five-round beatdown of Marlon “Chito” Vera.
Next looking to unseat “Sugar” is Dvalishvili, an in-form Georgian who has won 10 straight to earn his long-awaited first opportunity at UFC gold.
“The Machine’s” path to the top has included memorable performances against the likes of Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan, but he perhaps saved his best for last when he squared off against a former simultaneous two-division champ at UFC 298 this past February. Dvalishvili collided with Cejudo on the main card in Anaheim, further stalling “Triple C’s” pursuit of regaining the belt with a comfortable victory on the scorecards.
While that left Cejudo with 15 minutes experience of what the Georgian contender brings to the Octagon, O’Malley’s team doesn’t believe he could offer them any advice of value in the lead-up to September 14.
O’Malley’s Coach Not Interested In Tips From Ex-Dvalishvili Opponent Cejudo
During a recent interview for Bodog Canada, coach Tim Welch looked ahead to his man’s second assignment of 2024, which is currently set to see O’Malley’s challenger make the walk as the favorite.
But while Welch and co. no doubt have plenty of ways in mind to combat Dvalishvili’s perceived edge in certain realms, picking the brain of an ex-bantamweight and flyweight titleholder, Fight Ready coach, and former opponent of the Georgian’s is not one of them.
“I don’t know if that (talking to Cejudo) would help,” Welch said. “Everyone I’ve talked to that tried to talk to Henry, even coaches, they have a tough time working with Henry because he thinks he’s god’s gift to this green Earth, and you can’t teach him nothing, and his way is the way. But clearly it’s not, because Merab ragdolled him. So that’s definitely not the guy we want tips from.”
O’Malley will look to do a better job at stifling Dvalishvili’s offense than Cejudo did come fight night at Las Vegas’ Sphere in less than two weeks’ time.
The pair’s bantamweight championship clash will top a lineup that also includes another title bout, with flyweight queen Alexa Grasso and all-time great Valentina Shevchenko set to complete their trilogy in the co-main event.
