Sean O’Malley faced a pretty unfortunate defeat at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. But there was something peculiar about O’Malley’s performance at the event. It was only a couple of days after UFC’s debut in the Sphere that the fight fans got to know about his injury. Yes indeed! ‘Suga’ had his hip labrum torn while preparing for the fight. But did this actually hinder his performance?

At the press conference for DWCS season 8 week 6, a reporter claimed that a torn labrum was a significant injury. The fighters would simply not be able to give their best with such an injury. Dana White had no choice but to agree. However, a doctor named Dr. David Abbasi, has come forth with a reality check. 

Taking to Instagram, the doctor disagreed with the reporter and the UFC head honcho. He revealed that it was quite common to see torn labrums and meniscuses in professional athletes. With beaten-up bodies, it was much more common in mixed martial artists. He said, “So, this video brings up a great point about professional athletes in mixed martial arts, in MMA especially, or other pro athletes. If you wanna start finding things wrong with somebody, like hip labral tears, or meniscus tears, or cartilage injuries, all you gotta do is start MRIing their body. You will find things. You will find things like hip labral tears, shoulder labral tears, meniscus injuries, you’ll find cartilage lesions.”

But what about the former bantamweight champion? Dr. Abbasi quoted, “The fact that there’s a labral tear in Sean O’Malley does not mean that he could compete at a high level.” There are indeed people with labral tears who have experienced no symptoms whatsoever. The doctor claimed to have seen fighters with such injuries compete for the championship belt. 

On top of that, Dr. Abbasi dismissed the blame that the netizens have been putting on the injury. According to him, Dvalishvili won the fight fair and square. He said, “The fact that he competed and was not checked by doctor is ridiculous. He was just fine to compete. And he did just fine.”

That brings us to the question of the treatment. While a torn hip labrum might not be symptomatic, it can still cause quite a bit of a problem if left untreated. And the only thing that can fix it is surgery. No wonder, O’Malley opted for the procedure right after his fight.

Sean O’Malley will have to undergo surgery to fix his torn labrum

A couple of days after UFC 306, the former bantamweight champ quoted, “I have surgery on Oct. 3… I tore my labrum 10 weeks ago… I tore my left labrum in my hip. That’s the only reason I’m gonna be out for so long. This surgery should only take like two months to come back from, then a couple months recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months… You never know.”

Had ‘Suga’ not opted for the surgery, his labral tear would have worsened with gradual stress on the hips. Ultimately, this would begin to exert pain that has the potential to restrict his movement altogether. Being a minor issue, the fighting community can expect O’Malley to return within a year and entertain them with his usual charm and striking prowess. 

What are your thoughts on O’Malley’s injury? Do you agree with what the doctor had to say about his performance? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.