Sean O’Malley can become a two-time UFC champion this weekend.
‘Suga’ faces Merab Dvalishvili, who many are talking about as the greatest bantamweight of all time, at UFC 316 in New Jersey on Saturday night.
The 30-year-old has been one of MMA‘s biggest stars for years, but many fans began to view him as a genuine contender when he viciously knocked out Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 in March 2021.
O’Malley had just suffered the first defeat of his career to Marlon Vera in August 2020 when he squared off with Almeida, who once boasted an impressive 21-0 record.
After a poor run of form, Almeida was matched up with O’Malley at UFC 260, and it proved to the final fight of his career in MMA’s biggest league.
Almeida attempted to damage O’Malley with snappy leg kicks early on, but the Montana native cracked Almeida with one of his own and almost finished him in the opening stanza.
It was a similar story in round two, until ‘Suga’ found the KO he was after in the third and final round.
O’Malley dropped Almeida with a nasty right hand and he thought the fight was over.
But the Brazilian rolled onto his back as if to welcome O’Malley to the ground.
However, ‘Suga’ had zero interest in grappling and instead launched a thunderous right hand that knocked Almeida instantly out cold.
Cageside footage of one of O’Malley’s most famous knockouts then went viral after the fight and it shows the devastating impact of the final shot he landed.
Fans were left gasping as Almeida’s head can be seen literally bouncing off the floor and the noise the shot made would make any casual fan squirm.
Almeida lay motionless on the ground as those inside the UFC Apex were stunned.
The sound of O’Malley’s lethal KO was enhanced as the fight came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and attendance was limited.
O’Mallet later admitted there was no need for the final shot, as he knew his opponent was finished at that point, but declared it wasn’t his call.
“I think it was viral and a good knockout, but that shot was unnecessary,” he said during his post-fight press conference.
“I looked in his eyes – he wasn’t there. But in the first round, after the referee said, ‘Hey if I don’t stop it, you have to keep fighting.’
“So I had to give him one more little juicer to the lips.”
After his win over Almeida, O’Malley picked up consecutive stoppage victories before outpointing Petr Yan at UFC 280 to set up his first title shot.
He then knocked out Aljamain Sterling in August 2023 to win the belt before retaining it against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299.
However, O’Malley’s title reign came to a bitter end when he was convincingly beaten by Dvalishvili last September in Las Vegas’ iconic Sphere.
He has quit social media and smoking marijuana in preparation for his rematch with Dvalishvili this weekend.
‘Suga’ has also enlisted the help of former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
O’Malley has no easy task, however, with Dvalishvili unbeaten in his last 12 bouts.
Nonetheless, UFC 316 is set to be a spectacle where only one man will come out as the bantamweight champion at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, this weekend.
