Sean O'Malley is going under the knife. O'Malley revealed on Monday he is undergoing surgery for a torn labrum suffered before UFC 306 last Saturday.
O'Malley announced Monday that it would "be a while" before he'd compete again after a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili for the UFC bantamweight title.
"It's gonna feel good to take a legit break to get fully healthy," O'Malley said on his podcast. "You always have little f-----g whatevers. It's gonna be nice to take a legit, full-on break without something like, 'Oh, this is next, this is next.'
"I gotta get healthy, and that's it. I'm gonna actually heal up from injuries and take my time and come back."
O'Malley subsequently informed online streamer Adin Ross that he was set to undergo surgery next month.
"I have surgery on Oct. 3," O'Malley said. "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 of months of recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months. You never know."
O'Malley lost a unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to Dvalishvili at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday. O'Malley had moments in rounds three and five but was often overwhelmed by Dvalishvili's relentless wrestling. It was arguably the most decisive loss O'Malley (18-2, 1 NC) had suffered in mixed martial arts. O'Malley, who notched one successful title defense before losing his UFC title, took nothing away from Dvalishvili.
"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."