Morning Report: Joe Rogan doesn’t like Sean O’Malley to beat ‘f*cking animal’ Merab Dvalishvili despite lifestyle changes
Joe Rogan sees the sacrifices Sean O’Malley is making to regain his UFC title. He’s just not sure it matters.
O’Malley rematches Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, N.J., where he has the chance to avenge his loss from their first encounter this past September. In that UFC 306 headlining bout, Dvalishvili largely dominated the action with his wrestling and non-stop pressure en route to claiming a unanimous decision and O’Malley’s bantamweight belt.
Since then, Dvalishvili successfully defended his title against the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov, while O’Malley has not competed, focusing on recovery from shoulder surgery to address an injury he had heading into UFC 306, and making other pivotal life changes.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan praised O’Malley for his discipline, but wondered whether the seemingly indomitable Dvalishvili will be too much for him again.
“The Merab rematch with ‘Suga’ Sean, that’s an interesting fight,” Rogan said. “Very interesting fight. I do not know how Suga Sean keeps that guy off of him, but I do like what he’s been doing. Got off social media, stopped smoking weed, just dialed the f*ck in. Got his hip fixed, which was a big problem. There’s a lot of these fighters that take these fights because it’s a lot of money and it’s a big event and they don’t want to cancel and they’ve got a significant injury.
“Sean could not wrestle. Imagine not being able to wrestle in camp and then you’ve got to go face Merab. He’s a f*cking animal. That guy is superhuman. There’s no one like him. The cardio that guy has is off the charts. It’s just off the charts, I’ve never seen anything like it. He doesn’t get tired and he’s full gas, no brakes the entire fight. It’s just smothering, overwhelming people. Even Nurmagomedov, who’s also an animal, he couldn’t keep him off of him. This motherf*cker’s crazy.”
Rogan’s belief in Dvalishvili is backed up by plenty of in-cage evidence. “The Machine” has frequently lived up to his nickname, pushing the pace for the duration of the contest and leaving his opponents with little room to breathe, much less initiate any significant offense.
Dvalishvili has sometimes raised eyebrows for his unorthodox behavior between fights, but the results speak for themselves: he has won 12 straight fights dating back to 2018.
“When [Daniel Cormier] went to visit him on Sunday, the day after the fight, he’s out running,” Rogan said. “‘DC’ went to his house to congratulate him… and he’s like, ‘This motherf*cker’s out running.’ He’d just won the world title, and the next day he’s running. He’s an animal. He’s a f*cking animal.”
TOP STORIES
Roundtable. Which upcoming UFC event are you most looking forward to?
Troll. Tom Aspinall wants Jon Jones to know that he can have some fun with their rivalry, too.
Power. Who’s the best knockout artist in the Holloway family? Forget Max, it might just be his wife Alessa.
Sigh. Tony Ferguson still wants to fight and he still wants to fight Dillon Danis.
Historic. Long-running Brazilian promotion Jungle Fight is making major moves.
Cautious. Erin Blanchfield just wants to make sure she has an opponent for UFC Vegas 107 this Saturday.
VIDEO STEW
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin talks to coach Mike Brown ahead of Kayla Harrison’s huge championship opportunity at UFC 316.
Good way to vent his frustrations.
One of the best fights of 2025.
In honor of The Ultimate Fighter returning tonight.
Chael Sonnen sits down with Muhammad Mokaev.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
Rankings Show. ICYMI, the MMA Fighting Crew reviews all the moving and shaking in the rankings from the past couple of months, plus debate who will emerge as the best welterweight of this generation?
Severe MMA. Seán Sheehan and E. Spencer Kyte give their State of the UFC Address.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
The best knockouts of the week.
Hilo con los mejores KOs/TKOs de la semana. Top 25
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) May 26, 2025
Heartbreaking.
TONIGHT.
Statement.
Oh my.
We love love.
Dan Hooker making the most of his time off, I see.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Trevin Giles (16-7) vs. Andreas Gustafsson (11-2); UFC Vegas 107, May 31
Cody Garbrandt (14-6) vs. Raoni Barcelos (19-5); UFC Atlanta, June 14
Terrance McKinney (16-7) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (8-5-1); UFC 317, June 28
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hope everyone had a pleasant long weekend, whether it was spending quality time with friends and family or simply enjoying some peaceful solitude.
On to UFC Vegas 107!
EXIT POLL
Poll
Which UFC PPV are you most looking forward to?
5%
24%
4%
66%
257 votes total
Vote Now
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.
