Cejudo Criticizes O’Malley After UFC 306 Loss
Henry Cejudo criticized Sean O’Malley after his UFC 306 loss. O’Malley later won twice; Merab Dvalishvili later challenged Petr Yan at UFC 333 on October 24, 2026, and lost the title trilogy by unanimous decision.
Cejudo’s pointed reaction
Cejudo’s criticism was one of the most pointed reactions after the bout. As MMA Fighting reported, the former flyweight and bantamweight champion mocked the gap between O’Malley’s familiar “Suga” persona and his quieter performance against Dvalishvili. It was a quick social-media jab, rather than a detailed technical assessment, and came from a fighter who had been calling for a matchup with O’Malley.
How Dvalishvili controlled the fight
Dvalishvili’s pace and pressure were central to the result. He kept moving, feinted to disrupt O’Malley’s timing, and repeatedly brought the fight into grappling exchanges. The approach limited the champion’s opportunities to set his feet and build the clean striking combinations that had defined his rise. The UFC’s event analysis highlighted the challenger’s forward pressure and ability to grind on O’Malley once he secured control.
A unanimous decision, with close cards
All three judges awarded Dvalishvili the victory, with scores of 49–46, 48–47 and 48–47. The result was clear, but the two 48–47 cards show why “dominant” can flatten the round-by-round picture: the judges agreed on the winner while scoring several rounds closely. O’Malley had moments on the feet, but he could not sustain enough offense to turn those moments into a title-saving performance. The official UFC recap records Dvalishvili as the new champion.
The Sphere setting
UFC 306, promoted as Noche UFC, paired the title bout with a purpose-built visual presentation inside the Sphere. The venue’s large-format screens and cinematic transitions gave the event a different feel from a conventional arena card, while the championship fight itself came down to familiar MMA fundamentals: pressure, takedowns, positional control and the ability to manage five rounds.
What happened after UFC 306
The rivalry continued at UFC 316 in June 2025. Dvalishvili beat O’Malley again, this time by submission, to retain the belt. He also defended the title against Umar Nurmagomedov in January and Cory Sandhagen in October 2025 before Petr Yan took the championship by unanimous decision at UFC 323 in December. UFC’s official UFC 323 results confirmed Yan’s return to the top of the division. Cejudo’s comment captured the immediate post-fight sting, but Dvalishvili’s wrestling-led win—and the title story that followed—outlasted the online reaction.
The 2026 rematch and comeback
O’Malley returned with a unanimous decision over Song Yadong at UFC 324 in January 2026, then knocked out Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Dvalishvili challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title in their trilogy at UFC 333 on October 24, 2026; Yan won by unanimous decision. The UFC 324 report, UFC Freedom 250 report and UFC 333 event page confirm these results and the scheduled title fight.
Sources
Tags: Wrestling, Olympic Wrestling, UFC 306
