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Sean O'Malley recently shared his motivation going into the rematch against Merab Dvalishvili. O'Malley emphasized that he is more focused on defeating Dvalishvili rather than on reclaiming the bantamweight championship.
O'Malley and 'The Machine' are set to face off for the 135-pound championship in the main event of UFC 316 this Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
In a conversation with Daniel Cormier ahead of the fight, O'Malley said that a win over Dvalishvili would create a "cool storyline" for his career:
"It's going to feel better beating Merab, that, I'm beating Merab rather than getting the belt back. But it is cool when you look back. I took the belt from Aljamain Sterling, the greatest bantamweight of all time at the time. I took the belt from Merab Dvalishvili, the greatest bantamweight of all time at the time. They're training partners, it's a movie... I think that would be a cool storyline."
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Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below (7:53):
O'Malley first claimed the bantamweight title by defeating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. After a single title defense, the Montana native lost his belt to Dvalishvili in his most recent fight at UFC 306.
Merab Dvalishvili talks about Sean O'Malley's change of behavior heading into rematch
Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili traded plenty of trash talk and jabs in the lead-up to their first meeting. However, heading into the rematch, O'Malley has taken a much more relaxed approach.
In an interview with TNT Sports, Dvalishvili said he has been having a hard time keeping his hunger and motivation up because of O'Malley's shift in demeanor:
"Yeah, it's really weird this time. Like, he's talking nice to me. It's hard to be hungry and motivated because first time, when he was disrespecting me, I'm like, 'I'm gonna show you.' And I show everybody, you know. But like this time, I'm gonna keep it professional. I'd rather he talk trash again, disrespect me."
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:
