Things to consider about Merab/O’Malley

[biscuitsbrah]

Merab is susceptible to the left hook
We have seen Merab rocked multiple times by the left hook. Both Moraes and Cejudo were able to put him on skates before he recovered.
However O’Malley does not possess a good left hook.

If I had to pick a way for O’Malley to win, it would be by left high kick, possibly faking the left hand to set it up. If not then his best weapon, the right hand. Which is where most or all of his high level finishes come from.

Also both times Merab got rocked, he was exchanging combinations with Cejudo and Moraes. Something I don’t think Merab will be looking to do against O’Malley.
I would have liked to see Merab develop a solid jab, kind of like how Belal did. But from watching his training, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Also borh times he got caught he was throwing a left hook at the same time.


We have seen O’Malley fight shorter fighters before
He looked pretty stumped against Munhoz before the eye poke, and he was taken down multiple times against Petr. Both guys have good pressure, but Merab has more pressure, more conditioning, better footwork, and much better takedowns.

I really think the Aljo one was much more of a mistake on his part, going southpaw and switching stances leading with his face, than it was telling on how O’Malley will deal with someone who will stay in their stance with their feet under them.

We have never seen Merab deal with a taller fighter before
Will he be able to shoot in the open against a taller guy? Will his takedowns against the cage work as well? Will he try to use his striking to set up the takedown, or will he just attempt to spam takedown after takedown on O’Malley.


Conclusion:
There is this narrative that Sean will absolutely catch Merab coming in. I don’t think we can say for certain. If Merab feels like he needs to exchange combinations first in order to get the takedown, then yeah he might get caught.
What we do know for certain is that O’Malley will absolutely use footwork to circle the cage, trying to bait Merab in with something big. Same exact gameplan he had for Aljo.

Im picking Merab by UD. But we all know O’Malley can always land that big right hand

 

[Ormendahl]

I bet on O'Malley. I think Merab is too one dimensional and Sean and Tim are so smart and dedicated they probably trained well for this. And O'Malley has underrated jui-jitsu. I could even see him subbing Merab. But Merab winning by UD is definitely a decent possibility.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I bet on O'Malley. I think Merab is too one dimensional and Sean and Tim are so smart and dedicated they probably trained well for this. And O'Malley has underrated jui-jitsu. I could even see him subbing Merab. But Merab winning by UD is definitely a decent possibility.

I agree Sean and Tim are very smart and well trained. I don’t see a world where Sean subs Merab though, not when he trains with people like Aljo, who is a thousand times better at bjj. Sean has nothing on the ground that Merab hasn’t seen before.

 

[Tweak896]

I totally see many here acting like Sean is going to take out the grappler easy. I can't remember the last elite striker that can snipe grapplers before they get ahold of them. Aljo doesn't fight like Merab, he likes to stand awhile until he finds his opening for a takedown. I would be shocked if O'Malley can put out Merab as easy as everyone is expecting.

 

[Evbo]

If O'Malley rocks Merab, he'd better finish him. Everyone else who rocked Merab all ended up feeling very hard done by not long after

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I totally see many here acting like Sean is going to take out the grappler easy. I can't remember the last elite striker that can snipe grapplers before they get ahold of them. Aljo doesn't fight like Merab, he likes to stand awhile until he finds his opening for a takedown. I would be shocked if O'Malley can put out Merab as easy as everyone is expecting.

Yeah, to do that consistently would be amazing. Imagine you just sniped everyone that easily. Best we have seen was Anderson, and he didn’t really do it to elite grapplers either.

I also really thought Mcgregor was gonna do that to Khabib. Idk why though lol. Tbf he came pretty close with that knee haha. Just an extremely hard thing to do.

What they need to show is good TDD first. And O’Malley did show a strong ability to stay on his feet against the cage on Aljo.
Or at least a good ability to get up

 

[Tweak896]

Yeah, to do that consistently would be amazing. Imagine you just sniped everyone that easily. Best we have seen was Anderson, and he didn’t really do it to elite grapplers either.

I also really thought Mcgregor was gonna do that to Khabib. Idk why though lol. Tbf he came pretty close with that knee haha. Just an extremely hard thing to do.

What they need to show is good TDD first. And O’Malley did show a strong ability to stay on his feet against the cage on Aljo.
Or at least a good ability to get up

I mean the Yan fight Sean was taken down multiple times, yes got up. But Merab is Yan on steroids. I could see it turning into a back and forth close decision like that fight. All I know is Sean doesn't have Aldo level TDD, but has better offense and reach. So I think we might get some back and forth and close rounds, not a 1st round snipe. People used to spam that Martins KO of Islam like he has susceptibility to get hit like that. I would have Merab as the favorite, because most grappler/striker matchups favor the grappler.

 

[flektarn]

I agree Sean and Tim are very smart and well trained. I don’t see a world where Sean subs Merab though, not when he trains with people like Aljo, who is a thousand times better at bjj. Sean has nothing on the ground that Merab hasn’t seen before.

I haven't seen a single fight where Merab holds someone on the ground. If merab wins by UD it's from holding Omalley against the fence like all of his other fights. I'm still leaning towards an Omalley KO. But yea, it could turnout like Belal vs Edwards 2.

 

[The_Renaissance]

I think Merab will just eventually drown him in pressure, but it'll take 3 rounds or so before it starts proving effective. Merab seems to pass the eye test when it comes to his chin, so I think he takes a decision.

 

[oski]

 

[biscuitsbrah]

I haven't seen a single fight where Merab holds someone on the ground. If merab wins by UD it's from holding Omalley against the fence like all of his other fights. I'm still leaning towards an Omalley KO. But yea, it could turnout like Belal vs Edwards 2.

I don’t think Merab will be able to hold O’Malley down either. I was replying to a post saying O’Malley could sub him

 

[omawho402]

Sean by KO within 3 or I eat my hat.

 

[ThePimblettEra]

Stylistically I'd "usually" favour Merab's style in these kind of fights.
But idk man, I can just see some kind of slick spinning KO shit from Sean here, but we'll see...

 

[Egészségére!]

I don’t see a world where Sean subs Merab

I get that but with a decent chance of Sean rocking him combined with his sub skills it could happen

At around +1800 for Sean by sub I’m tossing $5 on it to win $100 but yeah it’s extremely unlikely unless he rocks him first

 

[World eater]

Sean by KO within 3 or I eat my hat.

What kind of hat are we talking about?
I’m leaning towards a frustrating UD by Merab’s fence-grinding powered by duracell cardio.

 

[DOMMA]

How do people under estimate Merab? I'm no fan but the guy blew through Yan and Aldo with ease. Yet, on this, and multiple other threads, people keep claiming that O'Malley is going to catch him coming in and KO him. Very doubtful. One, O'Malley is not a power puncher, accurate, but little power. This is a horrible match-up, O'Malley has never fought a ground and pound beast like Merab. Merab has a great chin and unlimited cardio and will wear O'Malley down through relentless take-downs and ground and pound.

 

[omawho402]

What kind of hat are we talking about?
I’m leaning towards a frustrating UD by Merab’s fence-grinding powered by duracell cardio.

For Sherdog phrasing, make that crow with salt and all the fixins. Lol

 

[Jackonfire]

I just hope whoever is reffing doesn't allow all that wall and stall that Merab is famous for.

 

[cshireman4]

Interesting fight for sure. I think the first three rounds will determine the fight. Could see Sean getting a stoppage early on. His striking is lightyears ahead of Merab's. But if he decides to give a round early in the fight to avoid losing a battle of the gas tanks, it could get interesting. I look for Sean to come out active early on. Hopefully he can finish him, but at the very least, he needs to take the first three rounds decidedly to avoid losing a war of attrition.

For Merab, he'll have to avoid the big shots while O'Malley is fresh. Find ways to drain him without opening himself up too much to strikes. Ideally he'll make the fight ugly from the very beginning and steal one of those first few rounds. Take Sean into deep waters and never let his foot off the gas pedal. Can't see a world where Merab finishes Sean, but a decision win seems well within reason.

 

[Rapa]

What they need to show is good TDD first. And O’Malley did show a strong ability to stay on his feet against the cage on Aljo.
Or at least a good ability to get up

Aljo is not even close to merab speed takedown technique or power he is only better on ground