Morning report: Sean O’Malley ‘felt bad’ for Petr Yan after Merab Dvalishvili defeat: ‘I took something off Petr’

Petr Yan has officially gone through a rough patch since his last appearance at UFC Las Vegas.

Once a seemingly unstoppable force with one defeat upon his arrival in the UFC, Yan, 30, is now desperate for victory. Last weekend’s event headliner looked like ‘No Mercy’ was about to hurl a tackle at his old rival Aljamain Sterling’s best friend, Merab Dvalishvili. Unfortunately for Yan, he was at the end of the old “Machine” hit as the Georgian wrestling sensation earned 50-45 scorecards across the board, earning a unanimous decision and their ninth straight win.

Yan, who fell short in their reunion title rematch against Sterling by split decision in April last year, initially planned to face rising star Sean O’Malley the following October. The pair of excellent forwards put on a show worthy of the night’s fight and earned an extra $50,000 apiece, but in the end it was O’Malley who gave Yan another split decision loss. After seeing Yan’s latest defeat, ‘Sugar’ feels a bit to blame for the Russian’s continued relegation.

“I really felt sorry for Petr deep in my heart,” O’Malley said on the TimboSugarShow. “After that I’m like, ‘Damn it.’ You only assume the scariest — Dustin Poirier says you’re the best boxer, you’re on the pound-for-pound list, you’re the worst guy in the division, people are scared of you… Then f**k **** illegal knees ‘Aljo.’ Then you lose a close fight against ‘Aljo’. Then you will be beaten by me.

“I felt like he looked a little different in it, but it could also be because Merab is that good. Maybe Merab made him look like that. I just watched it and think damn I took something from Petr, I feel like.

O’Malley’s victory over Yan cemented him as a contender at No. 1 in the official rankings for promotion until Dvalishvili won and promoted him to No. 2. Since then, the rainbow-haired KO artist has claimed that UFC President Dana White informed him that he will be next in line for Sterling’s winner against Henry Cejudo, who competes at UFC 288 on May 6.

Regardless of the direction of Yan’s career, O’Malley still has deep respect for his toughest challenge yet.

“I have a feeling that maybe he’s just, I don’t know. [49 takedown attempts from Dvalishvili], it’s crazy,” O’Malley said. “[Yan’s defense], too crazy. I think he was like – I would say he was embarrassed that he lost to me, which he shouldn’t be. I’m pretty damn skilled, but you don’t want to lose to me. I have freaking pink hair, I’m cute you know…

“He was so embarrassed losing to me that he wanted that [win] Back so bad and the division is fully booked. rob [Font]Adrian [Yanez], as the whole division is fully booked. Merab was the only one. That just shows you how fucking gangster Petr is. He didn’t care, he said: “I want Merab. I have to take that win back. I can’t accept losing to ‘Sugar Sean’.”

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The MMA lesson.

UFC 286 embedded 1.

Edwards vs Usman 3 Preview.

free fight.

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Gaethje’s road to London.

Prelude to UFC 286.

CCC and Chael break up Usman vs. Edward 3.

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On to the next. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee share their matches after UFC Las Vegas.

kings.

This guy.

Tallahassee.

Damned.

Justin Gaethje Jr.

Can you guess all five?

Respect.

KillCliff.

Fair enough.

Nice.

to make a fight?

Interesting.

Violence from Korea’s GOAT.

Golf.

Train.

Georges St-P hair.

Wild in the West.

Nat Landwehr (16-4) vs. Austin Lingo (9-1); UFC San Antonio, March 25

Aaron Pico (10-4) vs. Otto Rodrigues (13-1); Bellator 295, April 22nd

Kai Kara France (24-10, 1 NC) vs. Amir Albasi (16-1); UFC Fight Night, June 3rd

Bantamweight has gotten so weird since Cody Garbrandt defeated Dominick Cruz (which makes me even sadder). Realistically you could play O’Malley vs Dvalishvili on the same night as Sterling vs Cejudo and I don’t think there would be anything wrong with that.

Thank you for reading!

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