Sean O’Malley was on the losing side of a dominating performance on Saturday, but Marlon Vera believes that wouldn’t have been the case if he made one minor change.
With UFC 306 now in the rear view mirror, Merab Dvalishvili deserves to be showered with praise. The Georgian didn’t just defy his slight underdog status heading into the fight, but he smashed it out of the park with an all-time display to capture the bantamweight strap.
As he often does, ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili pushed the pace with an exhausting wrestling game plan for the entire five round affair, nullifying his opponents strengths.
Applauding the new champions tricky style, ‘Chito’ Vera shared his thoughts on the title matchup.
“That was a great fight,” Vera said in awe of the spectacle at the Las Vegas Sphere. “I really thought that if Sean could hit Merab early in the fight, things could change…”
“He just couldn’t land. Merab has that kind of jerky movement, it’s hard to hit him.”
If Sean O’Malley channeled his inner Conor McGregor, things could have gone much differently, says ‘Chito’ Vera.
“I would say one thing. Comparing the fight to Chad Mendes and Conor, every time Conor got up, he would crowd Chad right away. He would be in his face right away.”
Related: Sean O’Malley requires surgery following title defeat
“Everytime Sean got up, there was a little separation. So, that probably messed his rhythm.”
“Merab, we all know that, he can take you down over, and over, and over. A guy like that, in my opinion, you just have to sit down and fight him.”
“He’s going to take you down regardless. Might as well just go crazy on him. But overall, great fight. Congratulations to the new champion.”
Listen to Marlon Vera’s thoughts on a historic night at the Las Vegas Sphere below.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/marlon-vera-hints-at-how-sean-omalley-could-have-beaten-merab-dvalishvili