Sean O’Malley (18-2) was riding high into UFC 306. But unfortunately for him that wasn’t one of the best nights for the former bantamweight champion as he was dominated and in the octagon and lost his belt to Merab Dvalishvili.
Sean O’Malley suffered a torn labrum in his hip 10 weeks ago but managed the injury through a fight camp to take on Dvalishvili at UFC 306 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Obviously the hip broken down as his opponent broke him down as well. Sean O’Malley will undergo surgery during the first week of October and said his Octagon return could be delayed to anywhere from six months to one year.
Sean O’Malley posted a message as he packed up his UFC title belt #NocheUFC
(via @SugaSeanMMA) pic.twitter.com/np1lZfRyKS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 18, 2024
“I have surgery on Oct. 3,” O’Malley told online streamer Adin Ross. “I tore my left labrum in my hip. That’s the only reason I’m going to be out for so long. This surgery should only take two months to come back from, then a couple months recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months. You never know.”
Recovery time unknown
Coming off of hip surgery can be really tricky and that’s an injury that has to really heal so it doesn’t continue to nag you post surgery. The team seems to be on the same page in regards to making sure that O’Malley will be healthy once he gets back into the octagon. To O’Malley’s credit, he has no excuses about the loss.
“Best weight cut, felt good, no excuses,” O’Malley said. “My mom, she’s like, ‘You just weren’t the same, what was wrong?’ Nothing. I just got beat. Everyone keeps asking me, ‘Something seemed off.’ No excuses.”
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
