MMA

Sean O’Malley disputes judges scorecards against Merab Dvalishvili: ‘Round 1, 3, and 5, I won that fight’

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Sean O’Malley disputes judges scorecards against Merab Dvalishvili: ‘Round 1, 3, and 5, I won that fight’

Sean O’Malley believes he was robbed by the judges.

This past weekend, O’Malley dropped a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, losing the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 306. In the immediate aftermath, O’Malley accepted his loss, offering “no excuses” for his lackluster performance, but now a few days removed from the event, “Suga” changed his mind.

On Thursday, O’Malley re-watched his fight with Dvalishvili for the first time, live-Tweeting his reaction to the event, and making the case that he should have won the decision by taking Rounds 1, 3, and 5.

Round 1. I won that round 100%!! Based on damage that’s my round.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
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Round 2 def lost. Took very little damage tho
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024

Round 3 was closer than round 1 in my opinion. My round.
Up 2-1 going into round 4
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024

Round 4 Merabs round for sure. 2-2 going into the 5th
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024

Round 5 I won .
I am the champ. God is good. 1,3,5 round I won.
Defending belt against Umar in Vegas June/July.
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) September 19, 2024
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After concluding his rewatch, O’Malley also jumped on a brief Twitter Spaces where he elaborated on why he feels he deserved to win.

“I had not rewatched the fight, because the narrative around this f*cking fight was I got my ass whooped,” O’Malley said. “… I won the first, third, and fifth rounds, and I challenge all you f*cking little dorks that think that I got my ass kicked to go and rewatch that fight… Rewatch that fight, whether you hate me or love me, rewatch the fight, turn the commentary off, and tell me I did not win that fight.

“I won the first, third, and fifth. Oh I’m f*cking fired up right now. I’m the champ! I won! I’m the champ! Where’s my belt?! Get that belt out my suitcase! I’m the champ, baby!…

“Merab is a bitch still! I had him running around, holding his f*cking little gut. The champ is here! The champ is here! Go rewatch that fight. 135 bantamweight champion of the world is still here. F*ck Merab! Let’s go!

“But for real, Round 3 was close. Round 3 and 5, two judges gave it to me. Round 1, in my opinion, was clearly my round. Round 3 was a closer round, I still think it was my round. Round 1, I don’t know how they gave it to Merab. Just look at the stat sheet, he took me down a few times but literally did no damage. Come on now, tell me I’m wrong! Round 1, 3, and 5. I won that fight. It’s as simple as that.”

Aside from changing his tune on the fight, O’Malley also appears to be shifting his position on where he goes from here.

Following the loss, O’Malley revealed a hip injury that requires surgery and with recovery time, he might be out for a full year. But now the former champion appears re-energized, claiming he’ll be back next summer to “defend his belt” against presumptive No. 1 contender Umar Nurmagomedov.

“Merab is f*cking terrified of Umar,” O’Malley said. “Doesn’t want to fight Umar. I don’t know why. Umar is good, don’t get me wrong. But Merab is terrified. He’s not a champ. I’m the champ. I would fight Umar next. I can fight Umar next for the belt. I’m the champ. I should defend my belt against Umar. I have to get surgery Oct. 3, I’ll be back probably June or July. I’m going to come back as quick as possible because I love this shit.

“God it feels good to be the champ again!”

This is not the first time O’Malley has retroactively dismissed a loss.

O’Malley’s first career defeat came against Chito Vera in 2020 and afterward, “Suga” repeatedly referred to himself as undefeated heading into their rematch, and also claimed he “won” his No-Contest against Pedro Munhoz. And it appears O’Malley intends to do something similar here as he continued to rip Dvalishvili.

“Please, I’m telling you guys, you can’t have Merab as champ,” O’Malley said. “He’s boring as f*ck. I just rewatched the fight. I tried to make it as unboring as possible. I tried getting up, defending — I actually stuffed more takedowns than Henry Cejudo… I had Merab literally holding his [stomach], running, sprinting from me, holding his f*cking guts, praying the fight was over, staring at the clock. Round 1, 3, and 5! The champ is here!”

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MMA

What is UFC, what is MMA and what are the rules?

Published

13 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

What is UFC, what is MMA and what are the rules?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, also known as UFC, has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the US and in the last few years increasingly caught the attention of fight fans in the UK, too.

But what is it, how was it formed and what are the rules?

Here’s our guide on what you need to know.

What is UFC?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a mixed-martial arts promotion in which a series of fights take place around the world, also known as fight nights. It calls itself the “premier organisation in MMA”.

Mixed martial arts, of course, is nothing new dating back more than 5,000 years.

But UFC brings together some of the world’s best mixed martial artists, fighting each other at different weights with a main event taking place once a month. There are more than 40 events each year.

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Football

'Schillaci was a man who lived for goals'

Published

14 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

'Schillaci was a man who lived for goals'

Italian football expert Mina Rzouki remembers Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci, who has died aged 59.

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MMA

Conor McGregor ‘to address US Congress in rights campaign for MMA fighters’

Published

34 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Conor McGregor 'to address US Congress in rights campaign for MMA fighters'

There have also been complaints about lower-ranked UFC fighters being awarded title bouts simply based on their ability to sell television pay-per-view subscriptions, which is a core element of the UFC’s income in the United States.

Despite losing in the 10th round against Mayweather, McGregor has indicated that he may box again, and a handful of other UFC fighters have expressed an interest in lucrative one-off boxing bouts.

Legal experts have been discussing in the media whether McGregor is now a boxer in the eyes of the law, and thus entitled to the protection of the Act, or if he will lose that protection when he returns to the UFC.

FIGHTER SAFETY

Epstein told Reuters that the UFC does extensive work on fighter safety and welfare and is as transparent as possible when it comes to contracts.

He rejected the notion that match-making based on independent rankings could improve the sport.

“We have been successful for one reason and one reason only – we put on the fights the fans want to see,” Epstein explained.

“That’s where we have a problem with what Congressman Mullin wants to do.”

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MMA

Michael Bisping ridicules Georges St-Pierre's prospects of UFC victory in New York

Published

55 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Michael Bisping ridicules Georges St-Pierre's prospects of UFC victory in New York

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Michael Bisping has ridiculed Georges St-Pierre’s ability to make the step up in weight ahead of their UFC middleweight championship bout next month.

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Football

Martin Odegaard: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain’s ankle injury ‘quite significant’

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Martin Odegaard: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain's ankle injury 'quite significant'

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain Martin Odegaard has suffered a “quite significant” ankle ligament injury.

The midfielder limped off during Norway’s Nations League win over Austria on Monday, 9 September.

Odegaard had gone down in pain after hurting his left ankle following a foul by Christoph Baumgartner midway through the second half.

He returned to Arsenal for an MRI scan and missed his side’s 1-0 win at Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday.

“The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him,” said Gunners boss Arteta before his side play Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday.

“It’s something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months.”

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MMA

Tony Ferguson calls out UFC champion Conor McGregor

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Tony Ferguson calls out UFC champion Conor McGregor

Tony Ferguson has called out UFC champion Conor McGregor after landing the interim lightweight belt in Las Vegas.

The 33 year-old defeated Kevin Lee with a third-round triangle choke submission at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

While still in the octagon, the 23-3 fighter addressed McGregor as McNuggets and said he was going to “kick the ass” of the Irishman.

“You better come and f*****g defend that belt. Defend or vacate,” he added.

McGregor is the reigning UFC lightweight champion after defeating Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 in New York.

But the Irishman is yet to defend the belt, having taken on Floyd Mayweather Junior in August at the same arena which hosted UFC 216 on Saturday night.

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