If at first you succeed, attempt to do it higher.
That’s the mentality Merab Dvalishvili and his coach, John Wooden, are carrying into UFC 316 when ‘The Machine’ runs it again with Sean O’Malley in a principal occasion rematch that no person requested for as a result of Dvalishvili was so ridiculously dominant the primary time round.
So how do you inspire your self to go on the market and beat somebody up that you simply already embarrassed for 25 minutes?
“For Merab, the flip facet is he beat O’Malley fairly dominantly,” Wooden mentioned in interview with MMA Preventing. “It was not an in depth battle. I feel you may possibly argue O’Malley received one spherical possibly. And that’s an argument. So, the opposite facet is like if you’ve overwhelmed a man so dominantly, like how do you rise up for that once more, proper? And it’s not prefer it was three years in the past. It was, you recognize, lower than a yr in the past.
“The motivation is to go on the market and end Sean. And if that doesn’t occur, like I mentioned, it’s not for lack of making an attempt. It’s not for lack of—Sean ought to be a modified man after this battle if he goes 5 rounds, you recognize? So, that’s the place I feel Merab’s head is at. That’s the place I feel the motivation for this battle goes to lie: to do these items higher than we did earlier than. And that’s—Merab lives for that.”
Sean O’Malley has one thing to show towards Merab Dvalishvili
After all, it’s a special state of affairs completely for O’Malley.
After getting his ass handed to him by Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September, issues can solely enhance for the previous bantamweight champion, proper? Maybe, buts oddsmakers aren’t precisely satisfied that ‘Sugar’ will fare any higher the second time round.
At the moment, ‘The Machine’ is favored 3-to-1 to retain his title within the sequel scrap whereas O’Malley is a +225 underdog.
