Sean O'Malley contests the judges' scorecards against Merab Dvalishvili: “Rounds 1, 3 and 5, I won this fight”

Sean O'Malley believes he was deceived by the judges.

Last weekend, O'Malley lost the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 306. Immediately afterward, O'Malley accepted his defeat and offered “no excuses” for his lackluster performance, but now, a few days after the event, “Suga” has changed his mind.

On Thursday, O'Malley rewatched his fight against Dvalishvili for the first time, live-tweeting his reaction to the event and arguing that he should have won the decision by winning rounds 1, 3 and 5.

After rewatching the video, O'Malley also took to Twitter briefly to explain in detail why he believes he deserved the win.

“I didn't rewatch the fight because the story around that damn fight was that I got my ass kicked,” O'Malley said. “…I won the first, third and fifth rounds, and I challenge all you damn little morons that think I got my ass kicked to rewatch the fight… Watch the fight again, whether you hate me or love me, watch the fight again, turn off the commentary and tell me I didn't win the fight.”

“I won the first, third and fifth. Oh, I'm fucking hot right now. I'm the champion! I won! I'm the champion! Where's my belt?! Get the belt out of my trunk! I'm the champion, baby!…

“Merab is still a bitch! I had him running around holding his damn little belly. The champion is here! The champion is here! Watch the fight again. The 135 bantamweight champion of the world is still here. Screw Merab! Let's go!

“But seriously, round 3 was close. Round 3 and 5, two judges gave me the win. Round 1 was clearly my round in my opinion. Round 3 was a closer round, I still think it was my round. Round 1, I don't know how they gave Merab the win. Just look at the stats, he knocked me down a couple of times but literally did no damage. Come on, tell me I'm wrong! Round 1, 3 and 5. I won that fight. It's as simple as that.”

Not only has O'Malley changed his mind about the fight, but he also appears to be changing his position on where things go from here.

Following the loss, O'Malley revealed he suffered a hip injury that will require surgery, and recovery time could see him out for a full year. But now the former champion seems to be back in full force, claiming he will return next summer to “defend his belt” against presumptive No. 1 contender Umar Nurmagomedov.

“Merab is scared as hell of Umar,” O'Malley said. “He doesn't want to fight Umar. I don't know why. Umar is good, don't get me wrong. But Merab is scared. He's not a champion. I'm the champion. I would fight Umar next. I can fight Umar next for the belt. I'm the champion. I should defend my belt against Umar. I have to have surgery on October 3rd, probably be back in June or July. I'll be back as soon as I can because I love this shit.”

“God, it feels good to be the champion again!”

This is not the first time that O'Malley has subsequently failed to acknowledge defeat.

O'Malley's first career loss came against Chito Vera in 2020, and after that, “Suga” repeatedly called himself undefeated ahead of the rematch and also claimed he “won” his no-contest against Pedro Munhoz. And it seems O'Malley is up to something similar here, as he continued to criticize Dvalishvili.

“Please, I'm telling you, you can't have Merab as your champion,” O'Malley said. “He's boring as hell. I just rewatched the fight. I tried to make it as un-boring as possible. I tried to get up, defend myself – I actually fought off more takedowns than Henry Cejudo… I literally had Merab hand in hand. [stomach]ran, sprinted away from me, holding his damn stomach, praying the fight was over, staring at the clock. Rounds 1, 3 and 5! The champion is here!”