O'Malley backs Song to KO Dvalishvili after Yan retains UFC bantamweight title

Sean O’Malley has publicly backed Yadong Song to knock out Merab Dvalishvili, arguing the Chinese bantamweight’s athleticism and grappling improvements make him a nightmare matchup for the Georgian contender. The prediction came after Petr Yan defended the UFC bantamweight title against Dvalishvili at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

“Three-round fight, Song Yadong knocks out Merab for sure,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “He’s just so explosive and he’s just gonna be hard to take down. He’s been wrestling a lot; he’s been grappling a lot. His reaction time is so f*cking fast. I think he can put Merab’s lights out.”

O’Malley (20-3, 1 NC) pointed to Song’s takedown defence, power and timing as the key factors that would trouble Dvalishvili (21-6), whose relentless wrestling has long been his calling card. The former champion believes those attributes would neutralise Dvalishvili’s primary weapon.

Beyond the Song-Dvalishvili scenario, O’Malley made clear he wants a rematch against Yan. He holds victories over both Yan and Song, which he cited as the basis for his claim to be the leading contender at 135 pounds. O’Malley is coming off a stoppage win over Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 in June.

Song (24-9-1, 1 NC) has been in formidable form since losing to O’Malley in January, finishing two opponents in succession. He submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in May and then knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov in Shanghai, China, in August — a run that has firmly re-established him as a top-five bantamweight.

Whether the UFC moves to book Song against Dvalishvili or fast-tracks O’Malley back into title contention remains to be seen, but the former champion’s comments add further noise to a suddenly crowded division following Yan’s title defence.