Yuliya Faber recently spoke with us here at Low Kick MMA and revealed that current bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley is facing what many consider to be his toughest challenger to date, Merab Dvalishvili. He shared his thoughts on how to fight.
It seems almost destined that O'Malley and Dvalishvili will fight for the title. “Suga” continues to ice everyone the UFC stands in his way, and Dvalishvili looks to be an unstoppable force in the 135-pound division for a long time. 'The Machine' is currently on an incredible 10-fight winning streak within the UFC, and it is now becoming virtually impossible to deny him a title shot.
The Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili debate is an interesting one. While some aren't sure how O'Malley will be able to handle the nearly non-stop pressure of “The Machine,” others believe “Suga” will be able to counter the situation. Urijah Faber was kind enough to weigh in on this and give her opinion as a UFC Hall of Famer and elite MMA coach.
Uriya Faber focuses on Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
“I don’t think you can say,” Urijah Faber told LowKick MMA reporter Makoa Goble when asked how O’Malley would handle the aggressive pressure of wrestling that “The Machine” brings. “You would think so, but no one else could (stop wrestling), including Henri Cejudo.”
Merab Dvalishvili's suffocating wrestling pressure is unstoppable for now. Many people accurately describe “The Machine” as a “grinder,” and that's true. Most of the time, he doesn't give his enemies any rest at all.
“Honestly, it's a bad match for O'Malley,” Faber continued. “Because Merab is so durable. That guy's durable. He's just played against some killers and experienced their best attacks. The only time he was really hurt was , only when I hit myself and passed out.”
“But O'Malley has that element. He has a subtlety, he has a matador-like style. Merab is definitely bullish, and if O'Malley can have a perfect fight, he'll be clean.” I'll just team up with him for shots and stay on the outside. O'Malley's grappling is really good. I've trained with some of his training partners and they train at a really high level. It’s a partnership… It could go either way.”
Who do you think will win: Sean O'Malley or Merab Dvalishvili?