Chael Sonnen makes a case for Sean O’Malley to get a right away title rematch.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) by unanimous decision within the UFC 306 essential event at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Dvalishvili has two contenders in Umar Nurmagomedov and Deiveson Figueiredo vying for a title shot, but Sonnen argues that O’Malley is worthy of a rematch.
He explains the logic behind his argument, pointing to other stars which have gotten that treatment.
“The very first option is the champion that drops the belt gets a rematch for his belt,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “It was a respect that was shown to each great champion. And by great champion, I’m talking about champions that would also move the needle. All of them were offered rematches, from Conor (McGregor) on down – more recently, Israel Adesanya. Right into it, I’m sharing with you: All of the greats except Sean.”
Even though it was widely considered a dominant win for Dvalishvili, O’Malley is convinced he won the fight. Upon rewatching the bout, Sonnen sees where O’Malley is coming from.
“Motivation could largely be based upon opportunities – of which I didn’t see any add, I only saw him taken away,” Sonnen said. “I’m just sharing – that’s what I saw. But now you’ve got Merab, you’ve got Nurmagomedov, and also you’ve got Figueiredo, and so they can’t appear to quite figure it out.
“Well, there’s also a final option that ought to’ve are available front of all of them which is that if there’s controversy, we have a look at a rematch. There’s controversy, go see Rounds 1, 3 and 5. Watch that without commentating. Come back and tell me you don’t see controversy.”
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