Henry Cejudo slams scorecard as Merab Dvalishvili earns praise from Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and others for Noche UFC title win

Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili just concluded and the MMA world is stunned. 'Sugar' entered Noche UFC 306 as the bantamweight champion against an opponent who many considered his stylistic nightmare.

Ahead of the fight, the prevailing thought was that Dvalishvili would overwhelm O'Malley with his relentless takedown game, and those predictions turned out to be right, as O'Malley was largely helpless against Dvalishvili.

Ultimately, Dvalishvili won via unanimous decision, but the scorecard, which consisted of 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47 verdicts drew controversy.

Former UFC star Ben Askren took to X to express his shock over the scoring and wrote:

"How the hell did Sean get 2 rounds on 2 judges scorecards??? What does @VerdictMMA say?"

The confusion was echoed by Henry Cejudo, who previously faced 'The Machine' at UFC 298.

"What the hell was that score card! They most be some dems!"

Aljamain Sterling, who is the Georgian's teammate and lost his bantamweight title to 'Sugar,' also lambasted the scoring:

"Bullsh*t scoring. But I mean fair fight, where BOTH guys get adequate time to prepare. And YES, I'm still b*tching about that fight bc O'Malley and his team kept bragging about it as if it was fair playing field. Thats some weak *ss sh*t"

Islam Makhachev, the reigning lightweight champion, welcomed Dvalishvili to the elite club:

"Welcome to champions league Merab! Congrats! Can't wait to see your first defense vs. Umar @UNmgdv This is what champions do, defend the title against anyone who's in front of us! @ufc"

Meanwhile, Umar Nurmagomedov called for a title shot, which is exactly what the new bantamweight champion does not want.

"White Papakha vs Black Papakha. Have to be. Congratulations @MerabDvalishvil Right now you champion. You deserve this belt. Enjoy."

O'Malley's former foe Marlon 'Chito' Vera clarified his stance on who he felt deserved to win the fight after some confusion about his initial opinion, writing:

"Also when I say I call it the other way I refer to before the fight I predict Sean could win not that he won the decision, come on is my second language"

Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, who previously faced both Dvalishvili and O'Malley inside the octagon, congratulated 'The Machine' for his incredible performance, writing:

"Congrats to for the well deserved win after a long and tough road to the title. Hopefully we can meet again in the future when we are both at 100%"

In another post on X/Twitter, Yan expressed interest in a potential rematch with O'Malley, claiming that 'Sugar' was "gifted" the win in their first fight. He wrote:

"I never considered Sean a real champion because he was gifted decision against me in Abu Dhabi. Rematch season is open, so see you soon"

Dan Ige also took to X/Twitter to express his interest in the potential Nurmagomedov vs. Dvalishvili title fight.

"Merab is a beast. Excited to see him and Umar."

Cejudo fired off a second tweet, criticizing O'Malley's poor wrestling in the bout.

"Hey O'Methyl...You wanted to be the next Conor McGregor-well now you are. Neither of you bums can defend a takedown. I'm teaching "Wrestling for Cokeheads" at 8 AM. See you in the morning."

Billy Quarantillo also took to X/Twitter to praise the new champion.

"Happy for the homie Merab, couldn't happen to a nicer guy"

Movsar Evloev, who is scheduled to fight 'Funk Master,' also congratulated his rival's teammate.

"Great game plan by @MerabDvalishvil, new champ"

Naturally, Sterling had more than one tweet to issue.

"That's what a fair fight looks like against the best guy in the world! None of that stacking the deck bullsh*t to get an advantage!"

Terrance McKinney also offered his thoughts on the main event.

"F*ck man them front kicks had me scared for a sec congrats to Merab what a performance"

Where both O'Malley and Dvalishvili go from here is anyone's guess, but 'Sugar's' plans have been derailed massively.