The men’s UFC bantamweight division just saw an amazing fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. The Georgian fighter defended his title more convincingly this time by submitting O’Malley in Round 3.
However, after UFC 316, the division attracted opinions about career trajectories and future prospects. One particular prediction from a fellow MMA fighter gained some special attention.
Dillon Danis Doesn’t See a Bright Future for Sean O’Malley
Now, even after the UFC 316 recent loss, O’Malley still stands strong at #1 rank in the bantamweight division. ESPN MMA shared a post on Instagram regarding this stat, and former Bellator fighter Dillon Danis came up with a controversial prediction in the comment section of the post.
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Danis is no stranger to headlines, but it’s usually for his behavior outside the cage rather than what he has done inside it. The former training partner of Conor McGregor gained popularity for his brash persona and his outrageous callouts and feuds with high-profile fighters.
Taking a dig at O’Malley’s back-to-back losses, Danis declared, “He gonna go on a mega losing streak mark my words.”
Danis probably believes O’Malley will have a tough time against top bantamweights who rely on strong wrestling and constant pressure. Fighters like Cory Sandhagen, who Merab wants to fight next, and Mario Bautista, who just beat Patchy Mix, might take advantage of O’Malley’s ground game. Umar Nurmagomedov is also on the list, although his wrestling didn’t seem very effective in his fight with Dvalishvili.
Danis could also be pointing to O’Malley’s mindset, since the former champ admitted he was surprised by how dominant Dvalishvili was, saying, “I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that, unfortunately it did,” in the octagon interview.
That shaken confidence might affect how “Suga” performs in the future.
Danis and O’Malley’s Feud
Danis and O’Malley have had a bit of a rivalry, not in a traditional sense, though. The former Bellator fighter always called out UFC fighters. He even called out the entire roster ahead of UFC 316, saying, “They know a 2-0 phenomenon would come in and beat every person on the roster in 1 round and less, and that’s bad for business,” (via Home of Fight).
O’Malley has never hesitated to criticize his efforts to gain UFC’s attention. In an earlier interview with “The Schmo“, O’Malley said, “He’s doing his thing, he’s trying. When you can’t fight and you’re not good at anything, you just try to ━ ‘Who’s the biggest name? The Schmo and Suga. I’m gonna use their names to try to get some clout.’ That’s just his profession, if you wanna call it…That’s his way of staying relevant. My way is knocking people out.”
Even when Danis was having a beef with boxer Ryan Garcia, O’Malley took a dig at his net worth. “El Jefe” promised to bet his entire property and net worth on a street fight against Garcia, to which O’Malley replied, “So Ryan wins he gets 80k?”
So Ryan wins he gets 80k ?
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) May 3, 2024
However, despite their feud, Danis was also one of many who congratulated O’Malley when he won the bantamweight title in 2023 by knocking out Aljamain Sterling.
I can’t even hate; that was beautiful. I know we have our beef, but that was a work of art. Congratulations, Sean O’Malley.
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) August 20, 2023
Danis also predicted a loss for “Suga” at UFC 316, which came true. But as far as his recent prediction about O’Malley’s future is concerned, it fits his pattern of making statements to grab attention. By calling out one of the UFC’s biggest names, he keeps himself in the spotlight even if his words don’t come true.