When former bantamweight champion  Sean O’Malley lost the belt to  Merab Dvalishvili at  UFC 306 , he entered the fight under less than ideal conditions. Following the loss, “Suga” headed into  surgery to repair an injured hip.  O’Malley doesn’t think the hip injury played a major role in the fight itself, but it did affect his preparation for the fight.  “I was confident that I could go out there and knock Merab out. I did it against Aljo ( Aljamain Sterling ). The Aljo fight was worse, like the rib.