At UFC 306, beneath the dazzling lights of The Sphere, Sean O’Malley suffered a tough, one-sided loss to Merab Dvalishvili. But that chapter is behind him. Now, O’Malley is laser-focused on redemption, determined to come back stronger. He’s leaving nothing to chance, seeking wisdom and training with some of the most respected names in the sport as he works toward a triumphant return. It seems the champion is also doing the same by trying to mimic O’Malley’s sleek footwork and movements.

However, his recent move has not affected the challenger. Dvalishvili, never one to shy away from a bit of mischief, is well known for mocking his opponents in a lighthearted yet calculated fashion. In his latest stunt, he stepped into the cage with rising prospect Nasir Davis, whose hairstyle bears a striking resemblance to Sean O’Malley’s. His footwork and movement also mocked ‘Suga’, and the champion spent the entire sparring session trying to get a feel of it. The footage, shared by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, quickly made waves across the MMA world, drawing plenty of laughs and attention alike.

Well, this particular sparring session didn’t quite go unnoticed in the O’Malley camp. Tim Welch took notice of it and showed it to the challenger, who in turn didn’t pass an opportunity to bring it up. During a recent video on Tim Welch’s channel on YouTube, one of the fans asked O’Malley how one can develop elite footwork and feints. Without even hesitating, the former champion said, “S..t, you are asking the wrong dude. You got to ask Merab’s sparring partner. That one guy. You see that video? Tim showed me this video of this kid Merab’s sparring with, and I thought it was a comedy. And then they were serious. It wasn’t, but it was a little excessive. It was. It was funny.” 

Merab Dvalishvili has a lot to prove to the world when he takes on ‘Suga’ for the second time in his career. Previously, O’Malley was not a hundred percent walking into the clash. However, this time it’s the turn of the champion. Just like his fight at UFC 306, ‘The Machine’ has once again suffered an injury. He has injured his pinky toe, and the finger, well, the toe of blame pointed squarely at undefeated prospect Cameron Sandoval. During a training session with him, the bantamweight champ suffered an unfortunate injury. Just one misstep in camp, and suddenly, everything changed. So will the champion recover in time for his fight? Let us take a look at what he had to say about it.

Merab Dvalishvili is willing to cut his toes off before his fight with Sean O’Malley

In a viral video on social media, the Bantamweight champion took out time to share the details with the fans. He said, “Why you break my toe, my friend.” But Sandoval didn’t quite agree with it and responded, “That was you. You kicked me in the head and broke your toe. That’s just wrong.” Soon, the camera zoomed in on the injury, revealing that Dvalishvili’s pinky toe had taken on a deep purple hue, a telltale sign of clotting. Surprisingly, there was no visible swelling or inflammation, which suggested that the bantamweight contender may have avoided a fracture. Moreover, we as fans we do know that Dvalishvili is one of the toughest fighters in the division and is always ready to fight.

The injury reminded the fans of the same injury that Conor McGregor had suffered before his comeback fight at UFC 303. McGregor failed to turn up for the clash, much to the despair of the fans. However, the bantamweight champion has no such plans. He didn’t back down from showing his goofy side on camera and even went on to make a massive claim. As his teammates inspected the injury and showed concerns,  he said, “It’s okay… I’m gonna cut it off.” Fortunately, injuries like this typically heal within a couple of weeks. That gives Dvalishvili just enough time to recover and be ready to face O’Malley when the moment comes.

But the big question is, will this injury affect the performance of ‘The Machine’? Can he bring his one hundred percent in his second title defense? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.