What was supposed to be a romantic day for former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has awkwardly turned into an embarrassing tale, thanks to his former opponent, Merab Dvalishvili. ‘The Machine’ faced ‘Suga’ at the UFC Sphere, defeating the American to claim the bantamweight title. Approximately six months have passed since that fight, yet it seems Dvalishvili is in no mood to let go of his rivalry with the former champ. His recent post on X gave fans a good laugh.

Merab Dvalishvili not only dominated Sean O’Malley through their match but also made a fool out of the former champion. What was supposed to be an equally matched fight soon turned into a striker’s nightmare as ‘The Machine’ turned it upside down through his cardio. The Georgian fighter took to his X handle to upload a photo of himself pinning down Sean O’Malley, captioned, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Sean O’Malley has yet to comment on Merab Dvalishvili’s post, but one thing is certain—’ The Machine’ is intensifying the rivalry. As a result, ‘Suga’ may find himself working his way up to face the Georgian once again. Dvalishvili most recently defended his title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. Ahead of the fight, Jim Rome asked the UFC head honcho about Sean O’Malley’s return, to which the UFC stated, “I think he’s gonna be watching this fight closely and could possibly fight the winner.”

He further added, “We’ll see. I don’t know how Saturday is going to play out yet. We’d make that decision the following Tuesday in matchmaking.” UFC 311 came and went and Merab Dvalishvili is still the bantamweight champion, a rematch between the former champion and the Georgian makes sense. However, Sean O’Malley might have some other plans.

Sean O’Malley’s return is in the shadows for now

The former bantamweight champion has yet to give any clarification about his return to the Octagon. The last time he talked about a fight was before his UFC 306 appearance against Merab Dvalishvili. It must be noted that this is one of the longest periods that the former champ has stayed out of the Octagon.

While having a conversation on his YouTube handle, O’Malley asserted, “I’ll maybe fight till every nine months, ten months, maybe a year. Like, it’s gonna be a while. People are gonna have to watch the UFC without the Suga show for a little bit. Now maybe that they’ll realize, ‘F—! Yeah, it was fun.”  It seems his decision to layoff is driven by a desire to show his fans that, despite his recent loss, he doesn’t deserve the backlash he’s receiving. Stepping away from the Octagon might just make them appreciate his presence more.

Well, Sean O’Malley will be returning to the Octagon probably in the second quarter of this year. Till then we will just have to wait. Given that, what are your thoughts on the post from the bantamweight champion? Let us know in the comments below.