Ben Askren isn’t saying Sean O’Malley can’t beat Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316, but he questions the former champ’s decision to take the rematch right now.
Dvalishvili took the title from O’Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September, and now they’ll run it back June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Askren wishes O’Malley would’ve taken another fight against a different stylistic opponent before bumping back up against the streaking Dvalishvili.
“I kind of think this is a bad move,” Askren said on Funky & The Champ with Daniel Cormier. “If he gets beat up by Merab again then he loses a whole bunch of attraction because it’s like, well, you already lost to the champ twice, so until the champ goes away, they’re not going to give you a third shot against him.
“He could’ve fought some, maybe, lower-ranked guys — against guys who can’t take him down, he kind of looks like a real freaking superstar, right? He’s really exciting, very diverse striking attack, though, he could’ve looked really good [against somebody else], built the fight back up into something bigger. But now, I feel like everyone is feeling... ‘Hey, we just saw this. It wasn’t competitive. Why do we need to see this again?’”
O’Malley says he’s made a lot of life changes since losing the title to Dvalishvili — including giving up social media — and believes he’s in a much healthier place physically and mentally heading into his fourth UFC championship fight.
Dvalishvili found a lot of success in the first meeting with his pressure and wrestling, which is why Askren believes O’Malley should’ve, perhaps, taken more time to put on his wrestling shoes and get humbled up on the mats.
“I wish Sean would’ve taken some more time to improve his wrestling, but he has dynamic striking, he has knockout capabilities,” Askren said. “Now, Merab has been relatively unstoppable looking in his last handful of fights.”
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