Henry Cejudo: Sean O'Malley is 'being protected' with Merab Dvalishvili rematch at UFC 316

Henry Cejudo expected Sean O'Malley to get a rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) dethroned O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) by unanimous decision to become bantamweight champion at UFC 306 in September. Following surgery to repair a torn labrum, O’Malley runs things back with Dvalishvili June 7 in the UFC 316 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

While Cejudo isn’t surprised with the direction that the UFC decided to go, he sees no case for O’Malley to get another opportunity right away.

“I think we all knew it, bro, Sean O’Malley was going to get his rematch,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “It was the right thing to do to protect him, but I just feel like Sean has to get it done within the first two rounds. He’s being protected, dude.

“Like, does somebody really deserve a rematch after getting 50-45, Kamaru Usman? Like, no. You got 50-45. Get in the back of the motherf*cking line and fight the ‘Triple C,’ but he’s not going to get that. The UFC, they like him. They like the teeny poppers. They want to get into that new generation, Gen Z.”

Cejudo doesn’t see the rematch going any differently. Outside of a late body kick which stung Dvalishvili, O’Malley struggled to get any offense going and was repeatedly taken down and controlled throughout the fight. While O’Malley was recovering, Dvalishvili retained his title by defeating Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

“Merab Dvalishvili, he’s pretty much going to do the same thing,” Cejudo continued. “Level change, strike, level change, strike. Maybe give up the first round and bring in the takedowns. It’s the same thing. The question is to me, could a guy like Sean O’Malley hit him to the body early, crack him to the face, and get rid of him?

“He did hurt him to the body in the fifth, and that’s an indicator that the body could be open, and I think if Merab starts getting hit to the body, he’s going to really pivot the pace. I can see Merab Dvalishvili stopping him this time around, and just getting on top of him and ground and pounding him to a pulp.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 316.