Umar Nurmagomedov was unimpressed with Sean O’Malley’s performance in his latest fight. O’Malley, one of the UFC’s top stars and a former bantamweight champion, recently suffered a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. This defeat snapped O’Malley’s three-fight winning streak, which included capturing and defending the bantamweight title.
O’Malley was mostly out-grappled in the fight, though he managed to hurt Dvalishvili with a body kick late in the contest. However, according to Nurmagomedov, O’Malley didn’t put forth his best effort.
Nurmagomedov’s Criticism
“He’s a bum, brother. He’s a bum,” Nurmagomedov told Submission Radio. “He didn’t do what he had to. He was running. If you’re a champion, you can’t enter the cage and fight like that. He left the fight without even getting tired—he left the cage fresh. What are you doing, man? You need to go all out, do everything you can to defend your title, but instead, you were running, scared, and Merab played with you.”
Nurmagomedov continued, “He kissed you. He played. Remember when he didn’t even wait for the round to finish and just walked away? That’s like saying, ‘I can do whatever I want with you.’ Merab toyed with him, and I don’t know how O’Malley can talk after that.”
Although O’Malley has expressed interest in a rematch with Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov doesn’t see the UFC taking that route.
