Sean O’Malley‘s most significant moment against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 should be his target for the rematch, says Dan Hardy.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision last September. He wasn’t able to land too many clean strikes, but a teep to the body had Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) backing up late in Round 5. As they prepare to run things back in Saturday’s UFC 316 headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Hardy urges O’Malley to invest in his bodywork.
“Sean O’Malley is going to feel like he needs to be more proactive in trying to find finishes,” Hardy said on his YouTube channel. “Because that last round went the way that it did with the front kick to the midsection and Merab being hurt and looking up at the clock, I mean, that was a dead giveaway. The obvious target for Merab is his midsection.”
O’Malley captured the bantamweight title with a perfectly placed counter-right hand on Aljamain Sterling’s chin at UFC 292. Hardy advises O’Malley to break down Dvalishvili before trying to find the kill shot.
“In that last round, I think O’Malley realized there was another route to victory other than landing a clean punch on the chin, and that was damaging his body,” Hardy added. “Potentially there was a game plan to come in and attack the body against Merab, but the mistake they were making was that O’Malley was using his cross, which was leaving his head open to that swiping lead hook that Merab does so well. If I’m O’Malley, of course I’m expecting the wrestling threat, but I can’t let that hold me back. I still need to be aggressive and on the front foot. I need to be picking at Merab so he doesn’t feel like he can set the pace and have his own way.
“Especially if Merab is controlling the pace more in this fight like he was in the last one, where he’s taking moments, where he’s resting. That’s where Sean O’Malley needs to be proactive. Front kicks to the midsection are going to be the obvious way for Sean O’Malley to open this. If he can do damage, if he he can sap the gas tank of Merab, those front kicks will chain very well with knees up the midsection, which are very good for people that level change constantly. It will be a deterrent for Merab to close range down the centerline, so that’s an additional bonus for O’Malley throwing those front kicks and knees down the centerline. … You have to slow those kind of fighters down and damage them in ways that they kind of can’t psychologically deny.”
Contrary to most pundits, Hardy predicts an O’Malley win.
“O’Malley’s got the skills and the technique to be able to put Merab away,” Hardy said. “But if Merab plays the right game, he should be able to maul and drown O’Malley. Having said that, I think we’re going to get a rubber match. I feel like O’Malley might steal this one with something clean as Merab is overextending himself.”
