Sean O’Malley wants to be the next Conor McGregor. But his loss to Merab Dvalishvili on UFC 306 has led to a bevy of derision and even his most die-hard fans are worried that this dream may now be almost completely out of the question. However, what people are forgetting is that this is MMA. A loss is not unsurmountable nor something that spells doom for an MMA fighter’s career and reputation, as McGregor proved, coming back stronger than ever after shockingly losing to Nate Diaz in their first fight back in 2016. And O’Malley, of course, is still arguably the greatest striker in the promotion and more than capable of mounting a strong comeback.

Many have scoffed at the O’Malley-McGregor comparisons from the beginning, pointing out he doesn’t have the same charisma nor the trash-talking and fight-selling skills as the bombastic Irishman. But this comparison has been given sanction by the man who is the authority on these comparisons. Dana White went on the ‘2 Bears 1 Cave’ podcast (which was shot prior to UFC 306) where he revealed that he felt Sean O’Malley was in the same category, at least as far as their head for business and understanding the business of fighting goes.

“Sean [O’Malley]’s a great dude, and Sean has that McGregor mentality, you know what I mean. He’s a smart kid, he you know, understands the business and he gets everything. He’s easy to work with because he gets the business. Some of these guys are so f***ing stupid and don’t get it, they’re shortsighted, they don’t see the big picture… But you got like Conor McGregor and Sean, Ronda Rousey, who get it” he said.

While the UFC CEO did lament some of the other fighters, he felt ‘Suga’ was in a category all his own, only with the biggest superstars in the history of the sport. But ‘Suga’s loss does mean that the next moves he makes are quite consequential and may even determine the course of the rest of his career.

What could be Sean O’Malley’s next move

An immediate rematch with Merab Dvalishvili is out of the question for Sean O’Malley. After the dominant way in which ‘The Machine’ exposed just how hapless ‘Suga’ is against a world-class wrestler as himself, ‘Suga’ fighting the new champion straight away may be fatal for his career.

On the other hand, former two-division champion Henry Cejudo has already called him out. But since ‘Triple C’ is also an excellent wrestler, his matchup against the Montana native is also quite horrible. This is why it is unlikely Cejudo and O’Malley, despite the very real animosity between them will fight again.

However, Cejudo himself felt that the fighter ‘Suga’ may choose to fight next may be Petry Yan, with whom O’Malley has already fought. But, with their fight being razor-close, and ‘Suga’ only eking through a controversial split decision, there is some unfinished business there. Who do you think Sean O’Malley should fight next?