Sean O’Malley insists he was victorious at UFC 306.
In fact, the Suga State Athletic Commission overturned the judges’ decision and declared O’Malley the UFC bantamweight champion. Now, Merab Dvalishvili is willing to put an end to all the controversy and rematch O’Malley at the upcoming UFC 309 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Nov. 16 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I hear O’Malley thinks he won the fight and is looking for a rematch,” Dvalishvili wrote on Twitter. “If he wants it he can have it. Let’s do it November 16th at the Garden and then I’ll still defend the title against whoever the UFC wants me to fight next. What do you think?”
Not surprisingly, fans on social media were critical of Dvalishvili (18-4) for trying to avoid a potential title defense against No. 2-ranked bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who was unimpressed by the UFC 306 headliner. The 28 year-old Nurmagomedov is undefeated at 18-0 with nine finishes.
O’Malley is expected to take an extended leave of absence following his Dvalishvili loss, partly to address injuries suffered in his UFC 306 training camp. In addition, UFC 309 already has its main and co-main event matchups, so there’s little reason to shoehorn a hastily-assembled title fight into the Nov. 16 lineup.
Nurmagomedov was quick to respond.
Hopefully matchmakers can sort this one out sooner, rather than later.