‘Suga’ Underdog Against Merab, Favored Over ‘Chito’

Unless UFC books O’Malley against “Chito” Vera, then “Suga” will remain the betting favorite.

The “Suga” show may get canceled after just one episode.

That’s according to the opening lines from the UFC sportsbooks, which have top bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili as the odds-on betting favorite to dethrone Sean O’Malley if and when the promotion books their five-round title fight.

And they should, since “The Machine” is the winner of nine straight and ranked No. 1 in the division.

That said, the bottom line will always take precedence over the integrity of the divisions, so the promotion may choose to capitalize on the rivalry between O’Malley and Marlon Vera. “Suga” suffered the only defeat of his career at the hands of “Chito” back in summer 2020.

Here’s the latest odds from BetOnline.ag:

Sean O’Malley’s Next Opponent Odds:

Chito Vera: +140 (7/5)
Merab Dvalishvili: +250 (5/2)
Aljamain Sterling: +450 (9/2)
Cory Sandhagen: +450 (9/2)
Petr Yan: +1000 (10/1)
Henry Cejudo: +1200 (12/1)
Umar Nurmagomedov: +1600 (16/1)

Sean O’Malley Odds:

Sean O’Malley: +155 (31/20)
Merab Dvalishvili: -180 (5/9)

Sean O’Malley: -205 (20/41)
Chito Vera: +175 (7/4)

O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC) stopped Aljamain Sterling and captured the 135-pound crown in the UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last Sat. night (Aug. 19) in Boston, not long after Vera (21-8-1) outpointed longtime bantamweight bruiser Pedro Munhoz.

The promotion is unlikely to make any matchmaking decisions for the next few weeks, but UFC 296 in Dec. is still without a championship headliner. As for Dvalishvili (16-4), he’s been on the sidelines since last March, recovering from hand surgery.

For more results and fallout from UFC 292 click here.