Between the chaos of UFC 316 media day and the simmering tension with Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O’Malley received a little but significant boost when Conor McGregor uploaded a reel of him on Instagram. Not just any clip, but one in which O’Malley freely admits to being a fan and credits McGregor’s emergence as a major inspiration! Yes, you read that right. That is not something either man would have done a year earlier.

Their back-and-forth had become messy, and it appeared that they were done with each other for good. But here we are. The slate has been wiped clean, and according to ‘Suga,’ this means more than most people understand.

“Hell yeah, I’ll take it,” he answered when asked about ‘The Notorious,’ acknowledging him. You could tell he meant it, not as a PR line, but as a fighter who grew up watching a man break every rule and redefine what stardom looked like. Sean O’Malley expressed gratitude for the opportunity to watch Conor McGregor’s career unfold while forging his own path in the UFC.

“I feel grateful to be able to watch his come-up in my generation; I watched it happen. I think we’ll look back, he had one of the craziest careers,” he said. Now that the relationship has been repaired, as evidenced by McGregor’s recent story, he is carrying that motivation directly into the fire. “It’s cool to be able to watch it happen while I was getting into the UFC and everything. I’m pumped the relationship is back to good,” O’Malley stated.

‘Suga’ didn’t just rewatch the Irishman’s fights for nostalgia. He went back to the Nate Diaz rematch, when ‘The Notorious’ proved his ability to adapt, reset, and come back stronger. That’s the mindset O’Malley wants right now. He’s fighting someone who has already beaten him, and there’s no denying that it hurts.

So, he’s been researching rematches, like Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture and other old classics. Not just the tactics, but also the mentality. The moments when fighters confronted history and changed it.

“I’ve been watching some rematches, watched Chuck [Liddell] versus Randy [Couture]. I’ve never watched Chuck Liddell fights.” However, it is worth noting that while ‘Suga’ is mending his relationship with McGregor, the same cannot be said about Merab Dvalishvili; he went off on Sean O’Malley’s coach despite recent praise.

Merab Dvalishvili calls Sean O’Malley’s coach a cheater

While Sean O’Malley is easing to a more respectful tone and rediscovering his groove ahead of UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili isn’t biting. O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, praised ‘The Machine,’ declaring him the best bantamweight in the world, may have felt like an olive branch, but the Georgian is not interested in handshakes.

For him, UFC 306 was more than just a victory; it was stained by what he saw as Welch’s gamesmanship. And no flattery will make that go. Welch may be attempting to control the narrative today, but Dvalishvili is still replaying the sprint he took toward the corner that night—his rage boiling over mid-fight, convinced Welch was barking phony instructions to throw him off.

The referee came in and broke the rhythm, and the Georgian still walked away with the belt. He remembers it as a moment of clarity rather than chaos: “He’s still a cheater in my eyes.” And it is what sticks. Not the praise, not the media coverage—just the cage-side manipulation and what it revealed to him.

Even now, with everything on the line, Merab Dvalishvili is not seeking a cleaner chapter. This time around, Sean O’Malley’s camp played it safe, respectful, and perhaps even cautious. But ‘The Machine’ isn’t fooled. He’s not here to be understood, but to dominate. If the crowd, the cage, or the coach tries to be cute again, he already knows how he’ll handle it.

For him, this rematch isn’t about words, venues, or narratives. It is about never allowing anyone to forget what happened before—and ensuring that history repeats itself, only louder. What do you think? Will he be able to pull it off? Let us know in the comments.