Sean O’Malley lost his UFC men’s bantamweight championship to Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of Noche UFC on Saturday, September 14, at The Sphere in Las Vegas, and he’s not handling the defeat well.
Since losing, O’Malley has gone from gracious to graceless.
Before we delve into the specifics of O’Malley’s post-loss behavior, it’s essential to look at the definitions of the terms I used to describe O’Malley’s behavior since Noche UFC.
A gracious loser, which is what O’Malley was for the first 24 hours after losing to Dvalishvili, is defined this way by Collins Dictionary and Thought.is: Someone who accepts defeat with dignity and shows humility and respect for their opponent. They acknowledge the effort and skill of the winner without bitterness or resentment. A gracious loser maintains composure, congratulates the winner, and looks back on the competition as an opportunity for growth and learning.
Immediately after the loss, O’Malley was the poster boy for this definition. He clapped as he stood with referee Herb Dean and Dvalishvili while Bruce Buffer read the official result of the new champion’s unanimous decision victory.
This behavior has become the signature animations of a fighter who knows they were just beaten fair and square, and that the opponent was the better man or woman that night.
O’Malley took to social media less than an hour after losing the fight and told his followers, “I overpromised and underdelivered.”
On his podcast with his coach Tim Welch, Timbo, and Suga, O’Malley expressed regrets about his performance and kept interrupting his commentary by saying,” f###,” as the reality of the loss appeared to set in.
He admitted that immediately after the fight, he didn’t get much time to mourn the loss of his title as he and his team had a memorable after-party. O’Malley also announced he wouldn’t return to the Octagon for 8-12 months while he recovered, but he didn’t give a reason initially.
Shortly after his podcast episode was live and went viral, things began to change with O’Malley’s narrative. And this was the genesis of the graceless loser persona. Merriam-Webster and Cambridge Dictionary define a graceless loser as someone who does not handle defeat with dignity or respect.
Instead of accepting the loss gracefully, they may make excuses, blame others, or show disrespect toward the winner. A graceless loser will display negative behaviors such as bitterness, resentment, or a lack of sportsmanship. A graceless loser also lacks humility and composure during and after defeat.
O’Malley was on a phone call during a live stream with popular streamer Adin Ross, and he revealed he needed surgery to repair a torn labrum, which was why he would be out of action for such an extended period.
While O’Malley didn’t directly call this an excuse, it sounds like one, and it was interpreted by many people, including UFC CEO Dana White, as a reason for his flat performance against Dvalishvili.
Unfortunately, things went further downhill from there. On September 16, O’Malley posted on X almost playfully suggesting the fight’s result had been overturned.
He said: “Suga State athletic commission BREAKING NEWS: Suga won 2 of the last 3 rounds!! Fight Over turned. Suga won!”
At this point, according to his social media, he had not watched the fight back. On September 19, O’Malley posted he was “rewatching the fight.”
Post after post, O’Malley was scoring the rounds up through the fifth.
Unsurprisingly, O’Malley determined he had won three of the five rounds and should still be the champion. After scoring, O’Malley took to X’s Spaces to record audio and dispute fans who suggested the official result was correct.
The rant continued throughout the day, with O’Malley even posting videos of himself saying goodbye to the championship belt, but seconds later, he reintroduced himself to the title.
O’Malley got a co-signor for his new narrative from The MMA Guru, who posted a video breaking down how O’Malley was “robbed.”
Casual MMA also joined the list of people who agreed O’Malley “has a case” that he won three rounds.
All of this wreaks of elements of being a graceless loser in defeat. O’Malley disrespects Dvalishvili’s efforts, blaming the judges and the commentators for creating a false narrative.
O’Malley is still referring to himself as “undefeated” completely ignoring his loss to Marlon Vera in August 2020. Vera finished O’Malley from top position after O’Malley suffered a leg injury during the fight.
I watched the fight with Dvalishvili live and have covered combat sports for 17 years. I’ve watched combat sports for over 40 years and have watched and analyzed it critically for 30 years. Dvalishvili won the fight. It was not a domination, but he won three rounds to two.
The case of O’Malley winning the first round is the weakest point of his argument.
In addition to trusting my eyes, Dvalishvili outlanded O’Malley 16-14 in significant strikes and 25 to 14 in total strikes while securing two takedowns. If O’Malley gets that round with that statistical disparity, everyone in their right mind is screaming that Dvalishvili was the one who was robbed.
Even without the stat review, this approach from O’Malley just feels wrong. Even if he did watch the fight back and feel better about his performance than he did at first, having already conceded defeat publicly, it feels strange and less than authentic to make a 180-degree turn.
This approach comes off like the actions of a fighter who has gotten so used to winning and being praised and celebrated that they have the toughest time accepting that things didn’t go their way on a grand stage against a rival they thought themselves superior.
The optics are bad, and it feels like a high-profile, 2024 version of saving face.
O’Malley is a good fighter who has the opportunity to reflect, improve his takedown defense, and become more acquainted with a tough, freestyle fighter with an A+ grappling game. If he can do that, he could win a rematch with Dvalishvili.
As it is, it seems like he’s fighting the rematch on social media and not waiting for his opportunity to settle the score in the Octagon, as he did with Vera.