Merab Dvalishvili, the UFC lightweight champion, explained why he was ready to fight O'Malley in November, but not Nurmagomedov until February.
"I've fought Sean before and it was easier for me to come back because we were both in the same situation. We both fought on Sept. 14 and both of us would have come back the same day. But when someone else is preparing for a fight with me, it's a different story. With O'Malley, it was easy to do that because we're both in the same situation. That's why I said I could make a quick comeback in November. It wouldn't be a problem, but fighting someone new, with a different style - yeah, I need time for that. Two or three months."
