O’Malley to take extended break from UFC after Dvalishvili loss

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has announced that he will be taking an extended break after his loss to Merab Dvalishvili on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The 29-year-old was a -142.86 favourite at Bovada to defend his belt, but he lost in a one-sided unanimous decision to Dvalishvili at UFC 306.

Speaking on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, O’Malley revealed that he will likely be away from the octagon for the better part of a year.

“It’s going to be a while,” he said.

“I probably won’t fight for probably nine months, 10 months, maybe a year.

“People are going to have to watch the UFC without ‘The Suga Show’ for a little bit, but then maybe they’ll realise, ‘F*ck, we had it, it was fun’.

“The UFC won’t be the same without me.”

Health concerns behind O’Malley’s break from UFC

O’Malley went on to explain that the primary reason behind his planned hiatus is to undergo surgery on an injury suffered in his build-up to the Dvalishvili fight.

“I’ve got to get healthy and that’s it,” he said.

“I’m going to actually heal up from injuries, and take my time to come back.

“I tore my labrum like 10 weeks ago.”

The labrum is a form of cartilage found in both the hip and shoulder that aids in supporting the ball-and-socket joints.

“I tore my left labrum in my hip, so I’ve got to get surgery. I have surgery on October 3rd,” O’Malley continued.

“That’s the only reason I’m going to be out for so long.

“The surgery should only take two months to come back from and then it will take a couple of months of recovery.

“So, a year is a long time. It could be six to eight months but I’m kind of just going with the flow.

“You never know.”

O’Malley’s announcement leaves the UFC’s bantamweight division in a period of uncertainty.

New champion Dvalishvili has refused to reveal who he is targeting in his next fight, saying instead that he is open to whatever UFC president Dana White wants.

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