Sean O’Malley Schedules Hip Surgery After UFC 306 Loss
Sean O’Malley planned hip surgery after UFC 306. He lost the 2025 rematch with Merab Dvalishvili, then won twice in 2026, per the UFC.
Surgery after UFC 306
Following the September 14, 2024 title fight at the Sphere in Las Vegas, O’Malley announced that he planned to have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. Reuters reported that O’Malley said the injury was not an excuse for the unanimous-decision defeat. The UFC’s 2025 profile later noted that he had entered UFC 306 with a significant hip injury that limited his grappling in camp.
The rematch and return
O’Malley returned against Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025, seeking to regain the title. Dvalishvili retained the championship with a third-round submission. The UFC’s official athlete record lists both results: Dvalishvili’s unanimous decision at UFC 306 and the submission win in their rematch at UFC 316.
What the record shows
The injury was part of the context around O’Malley’s 2024 camp, but Dvalishvili won their first fight by decision and their 2025 rematch by submission. In 2026, O’Malley beat Song Yadong by unanimous decision at UFC 324 and knocked out Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250. The UFC’s fighter record lists both wins.
