Sean O’Malley & Merab Dvalishvili exchange words following jacket snatching incident at UFC 288

Sean O’Malley got heated at UFC 288 over the trolling antics of Merab Dvalishvili and it led to an exchange between the two on social media.

O’Malley was in attendance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey for the event. He got a close look at the main event between UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. After five rounds of highly competitive action, Sterling successfully retained the 135-pound gold via split decision.

After the fight, O’Malley got inside the Octagon and had an intense face to face with Sterling. While the two were exchanging words, Dvalishvili got a hold of O’Malley’s jacket and wore it. O’Malley was none too pleased and security had to intervene to avoid a physical confrontation.

Merab put on O'Malley's jacket 😭 #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/1dH5inwJWz

— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023

Sean O’Malley & Merab Dvalishvili Hurl Digs

Dvalishvili hopped on his Twitter account to poke fun at O’Malley over the post-fight shenanigans.

@SugaSeanMMA First… you gave me your jacket and I thank you for the gift. But then you cried for me to give it back and called me coat boy .. well if I am the coat boy … WHERE’S MY TIP ?? 💵🤣@ufc

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) May 7, 2023

“@SugaSeanMMA First… you gave me your jacket and I thank you for the gift. But then you cried for me to give it back and called me coat boy .. well if I am the coat boy … WHERE’S MY TIP ?? @ufc.”

O’Malley responded with the following:

Actually 15 it smelt weird as fuck after I got it back

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) May 7, 2023

“What’s your Venmo I’ll send you 20. Actually 15 it smelt weird as fuck after I got it back.”

Sterling told media members that he hopes to fight Sean O’Malley in September, then have another bout in December. Whether or not that timeframe is in the cards for UFC officials remains to be seen. The promotion likely doesn’t want to keep fans waiting too long, as O’Malley hasn’t fought since his October 2022 win over Petr Yan.

As for Dvalishvili, many believe that he would’ve already secured a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Championship if it wasn’t for his close friendship with Sterling. The “Funk Master” has said that he plans to move up in weight soon, so the door might be open for Dvalishvili to compete for UFC gold in the near future.