Joe Rogan has one big question ahead of Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC 316 rematch with Sean O’Malley

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has chimed in on the bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley.

When “The Machine” and “Suga” first met back in Sept. 2024, it was Dvalishvili’s wrestling and pressure that earned him a unanimous decision win and UFC gold. They will collide again in the UFC 316 headliner on June 7 in Newark.

O’Malley has since recovered from surgery on a torn labrum in his left hip and he’s made several key lifestyle changes. Rogan respects the adjustments, but he wonders how “Suga” will thwart the champion’s grappling.

RELATED: MERAB DVALISHVILI DETAILS MAJOR PLANS IF HE WINS SEAN O’MALLEY REMATCH AT UFC 316

Rogan’s Big Question

As UFC 316 draws closer, the biggest question Joe Rogan has is how Sean O’Malley plans to avoid being blanketed by Merab Dvalishvili a second time. He posed the question during a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” (h/t MMAFighting).

“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.”

While O’Malley hasn’t competed since losing the 135-pound gold to Dvalishvili, the titleholder turned in an elite performance against Umar Nurmagomedov back in January. It’s left some doubting that “Suga” can solve the puzzle despite having his health intact and making key personal changes.