Just a few days ago UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley claimed that he wanted to fight newly crowned featherweight champ Ilia Topuria next if he beat Marlon Vera at UFC 299, but after a fan backlash he’s now changed his mind.
“Let me start with this: initially I was calling for Ilia,” O’Malley said on his Youtube Channel. “I wanted the Ilia fight. I wanted that fight. It excites me, but I also thought the fans would get excited about it. But I got a lot of pushback saying, ‘You’re ducking Merab! Merab is next!’ So Merab’s next. Let’s do Merab.”
O’Malley has already rewatched Dvalishvili’s convincing decision win over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo after having witnessed it live at the weekend, and it’s left him convinced that he’s the man to not only end ‘The Machine’s’ 10-fight winning streak, but also to hand him the first knockout loss of his career.
“I’m telling you guys, I knock Merab out,” O’Malley predicted. “I rewatched Henry vs. Aljo after I was there and I told you guys, I’m knocking Aljo out. All you guys said, ‘No way. You’re not knocking Aljo out! He’s going to take you down and kill you!’ Here we go again. Obviously, I’ve got to get through Chito, but I’m telling you guys, when I fight Merab, I’m knocking that dude out. He’s sloppy. I’m accurate. I’m too fast. I’m too sharp. I’m telling you boys. I put Merab’s lights out, worse than Aljo. Aljo, little TKO. Merab, I’m putting to sleep. Turning his nose straight.”
With that being said, O’Malley also made it clear that he’s still interested in the possibility of fighting Topuria at some stage in the future.
“The Ilia fight can happen some day,” O’Malley said. “He keeps doing his thing, I keep doing my thing, that’s a big fight some day. I just want to fight for the people. I want to make the biggest fights possible. And I’ll give credit to Merab, Merab’s f****** improved, not just fighting, but on social. He’s doing a really good job building himself up, being himself, being a goofy, ugly ass, and he’s doing a good job. So that’s fight’s next.
“Merab, I hope you’re at weigh-ins as the backup fighter in case Chito doesn’t show, like he didn’t show up to Anaheim because he’s scared. I’m taking Chito out, I’m taking Merab out, if Ilia’s still champ, I’ll take him out too.”
