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Dana White Reacts to Sean O’Malley’s UFC 306 Title Loss to Merab Dvlashvili: ‘He Looked Flat’
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Dana White Reacts to Sean O’Malley’s UFC 306 Title Loss to Merab Dvlashvili: ‘He Looked Flat’

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LAS VEGAS – Sean O’Malley, one of the UFC’s biggest stars, lost his title against Merab Dvalishvili last Saturday.

The UFC bantamweight title changed hands in the main event of UFC 306, when Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dominated O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and won a unanimous decision. While Dvalishvili appeared to be a formidable threat on paper, UFC CEO Dana White didn’t think O’Malley saw himself in Noche UFC.

“He looked flat. He didn’t look sharp. He didn’t look fresh until the last round,” White said at the UFC 306 post-fight press conference. “He hurt him with that body shot. He knew he hurt him with the body shot and he kept going, trying to finish. I looked at the punch stats and there were six in a couple of rounds.”

White isn’t sure what happened to O’Malley, other than Dvalishvili had a strong performance. When asked if the magnitude of the event affected him, White was quick to debunk that theory.

“I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think he’s one of those guys that lives for moments like this,” White said. “That’s what he’s all about. He’s that guy. I don’t know if he just went in there tonight and felt empty. Some nights, that’s just what it is.”

There were a few strange moments in the main event title fight. For starters, Dvalishvili was warned by the referee and the fight was stopped for getting into an altercation with O’Malley’s corner midway through the fight. Dvalishvili also appeared to kiss O’Malley’s back and then walked away with seconds left in the fight, allowing O’Malley to attack him from behind.

White thought it was a strange fight.

“Merab and O’Malley’s corner were yelling at each other the whole match,” White said. “They were yelling back and forth at each other, and Herb Dean stepped in and told them to stop. Then the kiss on the back and walking away before the bell, I don’t know. Merab’s doing some sh*t. It was weird, but not shocking.”

More UFC!

UFC 306 Promotional Guidelines Compliance Payment: O’Malley and Grasso to receive $42,000 net for competing as champions

UFC 306 Video: Hear From Every Winner and Guest Fighter Backstage at Noche UFC

UFC 306 Bonuses: Fight of the Year Contender Is Clearly Fight of Night on Sphere

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s UFC 306 event hub.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White Reacts to Sean O’Malley’s UFC 306 Title Loss to Merab Dvlashvili: ‘He Looked Flat’