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Fans React To Sean O'Malley Losing Title In Underwhelming Showing

Sean O'Malley's short-lived run as bantamweight champion ended Saturday night at the MSG Sphere.

Zain Bando

Sean O’Malley looks on after losing the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.
Sean O’Malley looks on after losing the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. / (via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

It was far from a good night at the office for fans of "Suga" Sean O'Malley Saturday night in the main event of UFC 306 at the MSG Sphere.

O'Malley, 29, had his title snatched away at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili, losing a one-sided unanimous decision against the Georgian.

The loss was O'Malley's first since Aug. 2020 and ended a short-lived championship run, lasting just one successful title defense. He previously exacted revenge against Marlon Vera, as many pundits and experts believed he was on his way to becoming the best bantamweight in the world.

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For the time being, however, the Montana native will have to go back to the drawing board and reassess what his next fight could look like. Subsequent tweets from those who watched the $22 million-dollar event were unimpressed by O'Malley's performance, along with UFC CEO Dana White.

White, who is still under contract with MGM to host four UFCs in Las Vegas, Nev., per year after the promotion's one-and-done Sphere experience, said he noticed weaknesses in the now-former champion's performance.

“Some nights it just is what it is.” White said after the event.

White kept the majority of his sediments brief, using a few adjectives to describe O'Malley's loss, including "flat" and reiterating he "didn't look sharp tonight."

The fans, however, were less kind toward O'Malley, even after he put out a tweet apologizing to the public for underdelivering on his promise to put together a signature win at the MSG Sphere and have fans remember his signature moment forever.

UFC 306 Results & Highlights – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

While some were brutally honest, others took every opportunity to attack O'Malley wherever they saw fit because, simply put, the MMA community can sometimes be a brutal sector of the Internet.

"Over promised under delivered," O'Malley wrote. "Sorry. Love you guys."

It comes with the territory.

UFC Fans Rip Sean O'Malley's Losing Effort

Check out how some fans rreacted to O'Malley losing his title.

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Zain Bando

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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