Dana White went against popular fan demand by booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 for UFC 316. However, when asked to explain his logic at a press conference promoting the event, White was seemingly at a loss for words, sparking fan outrage on social media.
A clip of the moment was shared on X/Twitter by Jed I. Goodman. The question itself revolves around the fact that O’Malley just lost to Dvalishvili in their UFC 306 bantamweight title fight, and hasn’t fought since nor had a strong legacy as a champion to earn an immediate rematch. So, why did he?
“Um… this is the fight the people wanted to see.”
Check out Dana White’s explanation for booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2:
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
It was a bizarre explanation, especially as the UFC CEO fell silent for a few seconds after being asked the question. Dvalishvili has established himself as the dominant force at bantamweight, handing the well-rounded Umar Nurmagomedov his first-ever loss in an entertaining title defense.
O’Malley, though, has not done anything, and doesn’t appear to command the fans’ attention in a way to justify such a privilege. Fans on X/Twitter wasted no time in blasting White for his decision.
“This is sad and indicative of the state of the UFC. Wow”
Another fan joked that White was suffering from CTE.
“Lol, when did Dana get CTE?”
One fan described White as a fraudulent promoter.
“Ouch. Even the world’s biggest bullsh*tter was tongue tied”
Others pointed out how differently the fans felt compared to White.
“The people seem to disagree”
A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:
Regardless of fan sentiment, the matchup will proceed as the headliner of UFC 316, with the promotion able to take such decisions given the lack of strong market competition.
Dana White just witnessed Merab Dvalishili vs. Sean O’Malley 1
It comes as little surprise that Dana White and the UFC in general are in support of the idea of Sean O’Malley as bantamweight champion. He’s an exciting striker with a strong online fanbase. However, there is no indication that he can do much differently to defeat Dvalishvili given his performance at UFC 306.
Dvalishvili dominated the majority of the bout, outwrestling ‘Sugar’ to the point of exhaustion, like he does with everyone, to score a lopsided unanimous decision win.
alt=”Ricardo Viagem” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by Ricardo Viagem
