O’Malley Expects To Outshine Canelo – ‘That’s What Excites Me’
Sean O’Malley hopes to upstage Canelo Alvarez when he takes on Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
O’Malley defends his UFC Bantamweight Belt for the second time at The Sphere, which will hold the first-ever combat sports event ever. Suga defended the belt in his last bout, beating Marlon Vera via a unanimous decision at UFC 299.
He avenged the only loss of his career, as he prepares to take on Merab. Dvalishvili is on an impressive run of form, having beaten ten opponents in a row. The build-up has been clouded by verbal shots between Merab and O’Malley’s coach.
O’Malley On Canelo
Meanwhile, on the same day, Alvarez defends his WBC, WBA, and WBO belts against Edgar Berlanga. The fight will see Mexico take on Puerto Rico as Canelo fights on Mexican Independence Weekend. O’Malley wanted to show the UFC’s star power with a masterful performance, so he targeted a stoppage win.
“When it comes to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, who are they talking about? Are they talking about Canelo? Are they talking about the boxing fight? Or are they talking about the absolute dominating, beautiful, masterful, masterclass performance that I put on Merab and the viral knockout that came with it?
“Or are they talking about a 36-minute Canelo boxing fight that was kinda fire? That’s what excites me. It’s the competition of who are they talking about Sunday, Monday, Tuesday? Who who stole the headlines? Me,” O’Malley said
O’Malley will be helped by the criticism Canelo has received towards the Berlanga fight. It meant the David Benavidez fight will not happen, as the Mexican Monster will now campaign at 175 pounds. Alvarez has also ruled himself out of facing Terence Crawford, as he is expected to overpower Berlanga.
O’Malley’s Aim
Berlanga is 22-0, but Canelo is by far the toughest test of his career. The UFC also has the support of the Saudis. Dana White has confirmed that there has been at least $17 million invested in the card. The focus is on better fights, as there will be 10 rather than the usual 12.
The chief support event has also gone down well. Alexa Grasso will face Valentina Shevchenko in a trilogy. Their last clash ended in controversial circumstances after Mike Bell’s 10-8 scorecard for Grasso in the final round allowed her to retain the title. The consensus was that Valentina had done enough to win. Based on the fights and how Suga was feeling, he expected a good event.
“I’m so excited for this fight. I wasn’t actually very excited for the Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) fight. I was like, stressed about that fight. Just because my rib (injury), my training camp wasn’t the best. It was good for what we had. And then it’s like, this is hard. This fight, I’m feeling good…I love this match up. He’s got a ten-fight win streak. It’s a big fight. It’s at the Sphere. [And] it’s in competition with boxing, which is just kinda an extra little layer,” O’Malley added
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