“Ducking Merab So Hard” -Sean O’Malley’s Response to Illia Topuria Over Callouts Triggers Backlash From MMA World

UFC bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley managed to avenge the only loss of his career after beating his long-time rival at UFC 299. Now, after a dominant performance, fans are absolutely thrilled to see the bantamweight champ defend his crown against the no.1 ranked fighter in the division, Merab Dvalishvili. However, unfortunately for “The Machine” and fight fans, O’Malley seems to have different plans.

At the post-fight interview, the 29-year-old champ made it clear to the MMA world that he was eyeing for a shout at double champ status. Unfortunately for “Suga”, the featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria doesn’t seem to care too much about defending his title against the bantamweight champion. This triggered a response from “O’Malley” during a recent episode of “The MMA Hour”, which looks to have gotten the fans even more annoyed at the 135lbs champ.

Fans React to Sean O’Malley’s comments on Topuria’s response

During the recent airing of “The MMA Hour” on YouTube, Sean O’Malley voiced out his opinion of the recent tweet by Topuria. He tried to check the featherweight champ’s tweet by saying, “UFC is going to decide, buddy this guys acting like he gets to call the shots, he wants me to fight Merab next. I have more title defenses. He’s talking out of his mouth a little bit too much.” This comment from “Suga” had a lot of negative feedback from the fight fans.

A fan accused O’Malley of being scared of the “Mexican”. (“Mexican” because of Dvalishvili rocking a Mexican flag during the fight week of UFC 298): “Bro scared of a real Mexican in Merab”

Some criticized the bantamweight champion for ducking the no 1. contender: “We gotta stop the double champ stuff as a whole. This kid will do anything to avoid Merab.”, “Bros ducking Merab so hard”, “Tell me you’re ducking Merab, without telling me you’re ducking Merab”

Another fan insisted that Sean O’Malley should fight Cory Sanhagen and Merab Dvalishvili who are the top contenders in the division, before fighting for a second title: “Omalley needs to fight Merab and Sandhagen before he even thinks about fighting at 145”

Another wrote a hilarious comment implying that the bantamweight champ would fight anyone else before fighting “The Machine”: “O’Malley is so scared of Merab he’d be willing to move up to fight Du Plessis.”

Meanwhile, this one guy simply got his point across in three words: “It’s Merab next”

O’Malley’s response to Ilia Topuria seemed to have backfired big time, as it looked like it didn’t get across to most fans. However, what was Topuria’s tweet that prompted the response in the first place?

Also Read: UFC 299: Alexander Volkanovski Gives Deadline to Sean O’Malley After First Successful Title Defense

Ilia Topuria’s tweets his response to O’Malley’s post-fight interview callout

Ilia Topuria seemed to have tuned into the main event of UFC 299 the past weekend and he didn’t take too long to respond to Sean O’Malley calling him out. However, what was surprising was how “El Matador” civilly responded to O’Malley’s callout. He even threw in a compliment in his response.

In his tweet, Topuria wrote, “Suga, congrats.. Was a beautiful performance! There is a fight chasing you with Merab.. Get that done first.” The tweet subtly let O’Malley know that he still had tons of competition in his division before climbing up to his.

What do you think about the matchup between O’Malley and Topuria? Do you think that O’Malley should move up a weight before defending his title once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Also Read: UFC News: Dana White Rewards Merab Dvalishvili With Title Shot Confirmation After Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera