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Alexander Volkanovski touched upon Sean O'Malley's apparent mistakes in the recent submission loss at UFC 316 against Merab Dvalishvili. While O'Malley entered the bout with renewed discipline by cutting out smoking and reducing distractions, the strategy didn't seem to pay off against Dvalishvili's constant pressure.
Speaking about O'Malley's performance in a recent episode of Overdogs Podcast with Mike Perry, Volkanovski said that he expected the American to stay sharp on his feet, capitalize on striking chances, and scramble if taken down. Instead, O'Malley appeared hesitant and reactive to Dvalishvili's takedown attempts. He said:
"It's a tricky one. It obviously, yeah, it depends on the fighter to be honest. Like, I think it's a good thing when you go there and fully invest and fully commit to a camp. I think that can be very beneficial. But I mean, look, to be honest, I felt like he was too worried about the takedown. I actually was saying in my lead-up to the fight why I think he'll be more dangerous this time is [because] he'll try to make sure he's not as hesitant on the feet... Because when he's on the feet he's going to need to capitalize. He doesn't want to lose opportunities that are there."
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He added:
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"I thought he would just be a little bit more, look, I'll worry about the takedown when it comes. I'm going to focus on my hands. This is where I'm most dangerous. I'm going to fight my fight. I'm going to capitalize on being on the feet and find opportunities. If he wants to shoot, I'mma scramble and, you know, either stop the takedowns or get myself back to the feet, because when I am standing, I'm gonna do my work, do what I do best. So that's what I thought he would do."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (16:20):
Aljamain Sterling believes Sean O'Malley will thrive in the featherweight division, calls for a rematch against 'Sugar'
Aljamain Sterling believes Sean O'Malley could find success in the featherweight division if he chooses to move up after his UFC 316 loss to Merab Dvalishvili. Sterling said he would welcome a rematch with O'Malley at 145 pounds once the former champ recovers.
He feels O'Malley’s speed, reach, and striking could translate well against featherweights. Speaking about O'Malley's potential move to featherweight in an interview with MMA Fighting, Sterling said:
“I think Sean would do really well at 145, and I’m not saying that because I would love to run it back, because that’s obvious. But I think his speed, his length, would translate really well. He will be able to actually lift a little bit more to get stronger. The only thing is there are some dogs at 145 that, if they grab a hold of him, they already know how to grapple."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (0:01):
