“Thanks Dana” - Former UFC bantamweight champion responds to ‘Dana White Privilege’ rumors at UFC 316 press conference

Despite a lifestyle that many would refrain from, being in the world of combat sports, former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has shown a remarkable run throughout his MMA career with a record of 18-2-0 and even winning the bantamweight title. His only losses came from Marlon Vera at UFC 252 and an unsuccessful title defense against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Dvalishvili, having won the title bout against O’Malley, successfully defended it in a bout with Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. Both Dvalishvili and O’Malley are now gearing up to face each other once again at UFC 316, a bout that everyone felt the former bantamweight champion secured at the discretion of being favored by the UFC CEO, Dana White.
UFC 316 was announced with the USP of featuring two championship bouts: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley rematch and Juliana Pena vs. Kayla Harrison. While both bouts are of the bantamweight division, the UFC 316 press conference saw more fire being spat in the women’s division than in the men’s division. Even though a visual dig at O’Malley marked Dvalishvili’s entry by wearing a cap that said ‘Sean’s dad’ and carrying a Sean doll with a baby carrier, both fighters seemed to be welcoming the fight on a positive note
O’Malley has not returned to the Octagon since his last title loss against Dvalishvili. Instead, the fighter went through a rigorous change in his lifestyle during these 10 months. He quit smoking and several other vices, which has rendered him the confidence of appearing stronger in this rematch than in the last one. O’Malley claimed that his performance was affected by the hip surgery, and he had to fight Merab with just one leg.
While fans and members of the MMA community believed that O’Malley should have first proved himself ever since his transformation to secure a title bout, the announcement of UFC 316 made the community speculate if the fight was secured as a result of Dana White’s favor.

One of the reporters at the press conference directed the question to O’Malley, “Sean, some people say you are getting something called the Dana White privilege. That you are getting a quick rematch without even proving yourself as a champ. What do you think about that?”
The fighter seemed calm and handled the query smartly. His only reply was, “Thanks, Dana” and a fist bump to the UFC CEO, who was standing towards his right-hand side.
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With a positive attitude and visibly mutual respect, both fighters are preparing for the upcoming rematch. While Dvalishvili looks forward to retaining the title as well as maintaining his 12-fight winning streak, O’Malley is on a mission to reclaim the bantamweight title once again.