Merab is All Time, but Sean O'Malley Should Have Never Chased that Fight in 2025

[Siver!]

Merab DESTROYS Sean, but what were O'Malley's team thinking?!

Dude, wait until he's 36-37, win some entertaining fights in the mean time, then level the scores and then beat him in the rubber, Sean would be considered a legit GOAT contender.

They just eliminated him from that conversation for life.

Sean will NEVER be a GOAT contender now.

Merab will be though!

A gift.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Lol after they told him good job in round 1 i lmaod

 

[Alpha_T83]

Yea, he probably should have had to fight Sandhagen to be honest. If you can't beat Cory, you're not being Umar or Merab.

 

[Rio Ferdinand]

That cardio just means he can do whatever the fuck he wants in there.

Umar needs to level up otherwise merab is just going to dominate for years.

 

[ComfortablyNumb55]

Two losses hurt Suga's appeal and brand.

Could've given him some entertaining fights and eventually circled around to Merab to keep the appeal and mystery.

Stupid fight for Suga.

 

[tritestill]

Sean was gifted that shot, now time to fight actual contenders again

 

[Siver!]

Two losses hurt Suga's appeal and brand.

Could've given him some entertaining fights and eventually circled around to Merab to keep the appeal and mystery.

Stupid fight for Suga.

Just awful management from both UFC and Sean's team.

Sean is super marketable, super popular, immensely high potential...

... and they fucked it up by putting him against an absolute nightmare opponent who he had no advantages against.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

Jesus. I literally got exhausted watching him. That guy is a freak of nature. Cardio for days and he ate Seans strikes like pac man. Machine.

 

[Ladron4sherdog]

Extremely and embarrassingly one sided. Merab was a tier above. Sean isn't even in the elite tier in his own generation, nevermind all time as a goat.

He doesnt belong anywhere near a title shot. Tonight was a waste of everyone's time.

 

[Portland8242]

I have no fucking idea how his camp watched that Merab-Umar fight and thought it was a good idea to jump straight into a rematch.

You need way fucking more than that to hang in there with Merab buddy.

 

[Siver!]

I have no fucking idea how his camp watched that Merab-Umar fight and thought it was a good idea to jump straight into a rematch.

You need way fucking more than that to hang in there with Merab buddy.

Let Father Time beat Merab, then pick the bones.

I mean... it wouldn't have even been difficult?

Just bizarre.

 

[2432sj]

Merab DESTROYS Sean, but what were O'Malley's team thinking?!

Dude, wait until he's 36-37, win some entertaining fights in the mean time, then level the scores and then beat him in the rubber, Sean would be considered a legit GOAT contender.

They just eliminated him from that conversation for life.

Sean will NEVER be a GOAT contender now.

Merab will be though!

A gift.

O’Malley a contender for GOAT?? Not in anyone’s lifetime. He was protected by the UFC and gifted a joke win over Yan that artificially elevated him to a title shot before he’d earned it. He’s a good fighter, but nothing more than that, and there are a lot of those.

 

[NextGen]

Merab would beat O'Malley even in 5 years.

He should move up a weight class. Will never be champ at 135 again with Merab ruling this division.

 

[Siver!]

O’Malley a contender for GOAT?? Not in anyone’s lifetime. He was protected by the UFC and gifted a joke win over Yan that artificially elevated him to a title shot before he’d earned it. He’s a good fighter, but nothing more than that, and there are a lot of those.

The point is, he was considered the #2-3 fighter before today.

Merab is 34 years old, he's going to slow down in the next couple of years, it happens to everyone. You can't go on forever.

You don't have to be the best of all time to be an opportunist. There was a much easier route to the title than this idiocy.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

The reason he got another shot (and got his first title shot so quickly too) is the UFC knows theres a good chance he loses to multiple other people in the top 10 and wouldnt be able to legitimately earn another shot, which would have him slide into irrelevance even quicker than losing in title fights. At least now they can go "he only lost to the champ, the champ beats everybody else too!"

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Lol after they told him good job in round 1 and lmaod

"It was perfect, buddy," his coach told him lolololol

Also sounded like Ned Flanders

 

[rjmbrd]

Sean had a labral tear that got surgically repaired after their first fight. Frankly he did better at counter wrestling and pretty clearly improved. If this Sean fights the Merab he met the first time, its competitive. This is setting aside the reality that turning down UFC title shots causes trouble with the brass, and nobody is more petty than Dana.

The reality is Merab is still getting better. His striking improved and we never see him pull off submissions. Its rare fighters improve meaningfully this late in their career, but this is a special dude.

Sean is a solidly top 5 bantamweight and he's generally in thrilling fights. He's going to be around the top of the division for a long time and wouldn't surprise me if he's champion again down the road.

Merab will retire as an all-time great for the division. He's just something else.

 

[Rio Ferdinand]

Fight Umar next lol

 

[rjmbrd]

The reason he got another shot (and got his first title shot so quickly too) is the UFC knows theres a good chance he loses to multiple other people in the top 10 and wouldnt be able to legitimately earn another shot, which would have him slide into irrelevance even quicker than losing in title fights. At least now they can go "he only lost to the champ, the champ beats everybody else too!"

The UFC has goldfish memory these days so I doubt it.

Ari is in the midst of negotiating media rights for the next decade and they are asking for a billion/year deal in the milieu of flailing interest and poor PPV buys.

I have no doubt this got booked because it would sell better than other options, and they desperately need to post good numbers right now.

 

[BroScienceTalkatWork]

The way he got dominated.. He was never a GOAT. Wouldn't have lasted