Aljamain Sterling reacts after Sean O’Malley receives immediate rematch against Merab Dvalishvili

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling wasn’t surprised that Sean O’Malley to an immediate rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on June 7.

O’Malley lost his UFC bantamweight title to Dvalishvili last September at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Since then, O’Malley has yet to fight against, while Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov to defend his belt for the first time.

Although many thought Sean O’Malley would need to win another fight to get a title shot, Aljamain Sterling wasn’t surprised that ‘Suga’ got the rematch.

Honest answer, the UFC’s gonna do what’s best for the business and the brand. Would I have liked an immediate rematch due to the circumstances going into the first fight? Absolutely. But I understand the business model better than most, and O’Malley is a really exciting guy that… https://t.co/IaqaMKweAS

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 2, 2025

“Honest answer, the UFC’s gonna do what’s best for the business and the brand. Would I have liked an immediate rematch due to the circumstances going into the first fight? Absolutely. But I understand the business model better than most, and O’Malley is a really exciting guy that has beaten many top-five contenders. So I think he rightfully deserves it after all the ranked names he has beaten,” Sterling wrote on X.

As Aljamain Sterling says, he isn’t surprised Sean O’Malley got an immediate rematch against Merab Dvalishvili. He was a champion who defended his belt, as well as being a big name. But Sterling remains confident that Dvalishvili will get his hand raised against O’Malley again.

Sean O’Malley made changes to training camp ahead of Merab Dvalishvili rematch

After Dana White announced O’Malley vs Dvalishvili at UFC 316, many fans were disappointed in the fight.

However, heading into the rematch, Sean O’Malley remains confident he will be able to have success against Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley says he’s made the necessary changes to his camp after his loss back in September.

“The rematch is official, ‘Suga’ Sean vs Merab 2 is happening, and I don’t think people are gonna be too happy about it,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel… ” I’m very confident in my skills. Last camp, we had some shit going on. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. We had a great camp, we showed up I was in shape we did what we could. This camp has already been a lot different, and I’m feeling good. So, super excited to be able to go out there and take care of business. I feel like a lot of things I’ve made change-wise in my life are gonna attribute to my performance.”

Sean O’Malley is 18-2 and one NC as a pro and is coming off the loss to Dvalishvili to lose his bantamweight title. Before that, he beat Marlon Vera to defend his belt and knocked out Aljamain Sterling to win the title.