O'Malley blew his post-fight callout.

[Icanseeu]

I’m definitely interested. Super fight, and should be a good one. But I don’t want it, it messes up the divisions and he hasn’t earned it, I want him to clear his division first.

Not every champion vs champion is a super fight.

 

[doozer]

Not every champion vs champion is a super fight.

I guess that’s up for interpretation of what a super fight is. But your definition is as good as mine.

 

[TRVITMVNZ]

From the rumors that I heard it wont be any of that. OMalley will headline a card that will shock and pump up the hardcore fans

 

[BFG]

Merab was the backup for O'Malley-Vera, so I'm pretty sure he's next. Also, Ilia's mom said no fight until Sean beats Merab <45>

 

[MetaIIica]

why should the champ have to call someone out?

It's about the way he did it and who he called out.

 

[AmonTobin]

Sean vs Cory next.

Merab needs 1 more win.


Merab vs Umar at 301.

Not a bad idea. Although Merab just as deserving as Cory. I just don't want to see Umar leapfrogging the whole division and possibly eliminating Cory's shot due to a clash of styles. Umar is even more boring than Merab imo.

 

[Vulve]

anything but merab is fine by me

 

[Kevin Sorbo]

Of course he wants to fight Illia. He doesn’t want to fight the takedown machine, Illia is far more up his alley. And the risk reward is great. If he loses, it wasn’t his weight class and he’s still champ, if he wins double champ. All win no loss

^This. Merab is definitely a tougher fight stylistically than Topuria and like you said, Topuria would be much more of a win-win fight for him.

 

[El Fernas]

Is anyone actually interested in seeing Sean vs Ilia?

I'm legit asking cause I don't give the slighest fuck about seeing these two compete against eachother.

I'd watch him fight like 4 different people over Merab, Topuria is one of them for sure.

anything but merab is fine by me

This, basically.

 

[GoWokeGoBroke]

As much as I hate to say it…it’s a very intriguing fight

 

[AmonTobin]

Mentioning Merab under his breath as an afterthought might have been his way of getting under Merab’s skin. One of many head games to play, leading up to that fight. Whether intentional or unintentional, Merab sure looked pissed off and I don’t blame him. Although the fight is too soon to justify, I’m intrigued by a Topuria fight (down the line).

 

[doozer]

Live at presser:

Hey Sean, would you fight Merab if Vera doesn’t make it.

Sean: 100%, absolutely.


Sherdog: he’s obviously ducking Merab

Saying he would fight Merab if Vera doesn’t make it means absolutely nothing, it is what someone would do if they couldn’t care less who they fought, it is also what someone would do if they didn’t want to fight Merab because it lets everyone know he would fight him without actually fighting him.
Sean believes he would beat Merab, he also knows it would be his greatest risk fight. There was an argument to me made for fighting Vera to average his loss, there is an argument to be made for fighting Illia and for fighting Merab. He is simply trying to get the fights with lower risk for higher reward.

 

[xentreos]

Except if Sean wobbles him like cejudo or moraes did, it's over

Dude I forgot about that moraes fight. How he didn't finish merab is beyond me, he was getting bombed on for like 40 second straights

 

[HuskySamoan]

Seriously though idk how he beats boring ass merab. I'll never be a fan after that Aldo fight, but God damn is he effective. Reminds me very much of RDA going into that Pettis fight. Just able to put his foot on the gas for 25 minutes non stop no matter what you do or throw at them they just come forward

Merab does charge straight forward and get caught. Omalley is a pretty lethal striker, I'd favor Merab but not by a ton. Omalley also looked great defending vs Aljo and his cardio looked good over 5 vs Chito.

 

[EYEKICKFACES]

Ilia won't even want the fight yet anyways because he wouldn't want to take an opportunity away from his Georgian brother Merab. They can revisit the fight in a year or two if they both get a few title defenses.

That's the sort of thinking that put Merab in this spot to begin with. If he had been willing to fight Aljo he'd already have a couple of title defences. Instead he was begging Sean to mention his name after Sean's fight.

 

[Sms_productions713]

why should the champ have to call someone out?

World we live in. Every fighter should look at themselves their own LLC

 

[BROWNPRIDE]

Sean O'malley should have called out Merab since he's obviously the next contender in line and hyped the matchup, but instead Sean decides to call out Illia Topuria who's in a different division and the crowds reaction was silent, then after hearing the weak response from the crowd Sean says "...oh yeah or Merab too" but it was already too late at that point. Dude needs to stay at 135 for a little bit he acts like Conor but he's not even a quarter as witty on the mic.

This is the 1 billion tread made of topic this week ^

 

[checktheknuckles]

His accent is what got him far imo. You know the Americans be loving their accents.

Thats not it. No US based fighter will ever get that support like some of these lesser known countries who go all out supporting their fighters (only bright spot in their country, I reckon). In the US, MMA'ers are way way down on the totem pole of sport celebrities. Too many important sports to give a fuck about some UFC fighter. Where as with Conor, what other sport stars does Ireland produce? Its why the UFC are pushing these fighters who are in similar situations like Conor was in, small country who bleeds patriotism and backs their boy at all costs.

 

[Deceasedxo]

Thats not it. No US based fighter will ever get that support like some of these lesser known countries who go all out supporting their fighters (only bright spot in their country, I reckon). In the US, MMA'ers are way way down on the totem pole of sport celebrities. Too many important sports to give a fuck about some UFC fighter. Where as with Conor, what other sport stars does Ireland produce? Its why the UFC are pushing these fighters who are in similar situations like Conor was in, small country who bleeds patriotism and backs their boy at all costs.

Most of the Irish can't stand the cunt. It was the Americans absolutely bumming his 'trash talk' with the fun accent that got him big.