Sean O’Malley has always kept it real, and when he looks back at his short UFC bantamweight title run, he does it with a smirk. In 2023, Sugar shocked the world with a devastating second-round knockout over Aljamain Sterling. Six months later, he doubled down by outclassing Marlon “Chito” Vera to avenge the only loss on his record.
However, Sean O’Malley’s reign didn’t last. Merab Dvalishvili wrestled the belt off him, twice, and even O’Malley admits he got lucky not facing Merab earlier. So when he watched Jack Della Maddalena get dominated by Islam Makhachev at UFC 322, he understood the struggle better than anyone.
On The BrO’Malley Show, Sean O’Malley didn’t hold back.
“That was very high level,” he said. “Islam moving up from 155 to 170, fighting JDM the champ. Poor JDM… he gets the belt, wins the belt, and the first title defense is Islam.”
O’Malley wasn’t exaggerating. Makhachev mauled Della Maddalena from start to finish, becoming a two-weight world champion in the process. The matchup was already a nightmare on paper, but the actual fight showed just how wide the gap can be when you’re dealing with one of the most dominant fighters in MMA.
O’Malley admitted he got a far easier first defense when the UFC handed him the Chito rematch instead of a monster like Merab or Islam.
“Fortunate for me, I win the belt, they gave me Chito. Woo! We got the game wrapped up on our finger there.”
While fans debate Islam’s future at welterweight, especially with killers like Michael Morales and Carlos Prates rising fast—Sean O’Malley floated an unexpected question: could Ilia Topuria actually give Makhachev problems?
“When you have someone that can take you down and you can’t get back up, “It changes everything,” O’Malley said. “The question is… does he do that to Ilia Topuria? Ilia’s 5-foot-5. Being that short might make it harder for Islam to get in on the shots. Maybe, maybe not.”
O’Malley’s empathy for Della Maddalena is real. He knows exactly what it feels like to be stuck under an unstoppable wrestler with no way out. Merab put him through that hell. twice, so he respected JDM for lasting the full five rounds.
“It’s crazy how much damage he didn’t take and how good of a job he did not getting submitted,” Sean O’Malley said. “It sucks that’s the takeaway, but that was impressive. Still… at the end of the day, you’re on your back. Nothing you can do. Unfortunate for JDM.”
At UFC 322, Jack Della Maddalena learned the hard truth Sean O’Malley already knows: when a fighter like Islam Makhachev decides to impose his wrestling, everyone else is just playing catch-up.
