Sean O'Malley shares his honest take on fighting at the UFC Apex facility: "The more people, the better"

Former bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley recently touched on fighting at the UFC Apex facility. 'Suga' is scheduled to lock horns with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7.

When the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread restrictions on social gatherings and travel, the UFC decided to host their events at the Apex facility. The venue hosts a limited number of seats, accommodating up to 1000. Although the restrictions had been lifted a long time ago, the promotion has continued to host events at the Apex.

This has led to a constant backlash from fans who perceive events held at the Apex facility to be uneventful. In a recent interview with the Spinnin Backfist MMA Show, 'Suga' shared his perspective on fighting at the venue, stating:

"If I could pick, I would fight in arena the whole time, the more people, the better. The Apex is cool, very cool memories. Eddie Wineland, the knockout, you can hear him on the video, snoring. You don't get to hear that stuff when there's an arena. In an arena, those knockouts would've been insane."

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Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below:

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Merab Dvalishvili admits Sean O'Malley's body shots were effective at UFC Noche

Sean O'Malley lost his title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Noche in September last year. Although the fight was one-sided, with 'The Machine' dominating O'Malley throughout the fight, 'Suga' had his moments when he landed several kicks to the body.

In an interview with Daniel Cormier, Dvalishvili said:

"No, I'm not gonna say [O'Malley] cracked me, but he let me feel his [body kick]. First time I felt his body kick, and if he landed two more clean [shots] then maybe it can be a problem. That's why when he got me with the body kick, I'm like, 'F***'. Like, just two minutes earlier, I was holding him down but because of the referee told me, 'Move, do something', I let him get up. I should not [have] let him go."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

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About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by Sunil Krishnan