I don’t think O’Malley will break that way — I think he is one of those guys that is rock-solid in those big moments and there is no really shaking him — but it’s going to be interesting.
That first takedown attempt, that first interaction is going to be interesting because how it goes will be a signal of what’s to come. It’s just a flowchart of questions, and I can’t wait to see it.
One Coaching Curiosity
Kyte: If there is a little something in this matchup that catches your eye, that piques your interest from a coaching standpoint, what is it?
Chartier: I think it’s the same thing — I’m just really curious to see how O’Malley deals with Merab’s style.
Is he going to be apprehensive because he’s worried about the takedown or is he going to go on the offensive because “I know you’re going to shoot, so I’m coming with big offense up the middle” to attach him? Or does he sit back waiting to defend takedowns and work off that, because you know Merab is going to run forward and try to take you down right away.
Does he go forward and meet him in the middle or does he have his defensive weapons out?
I’m also interested to see if Merab looks at that Vera fight and thinks, “I should attack the body,” which prompts him to start ripping kicks to the body or targeting the body whenever he’s inside.
Obviously, you don’t know how it would have went, but if that fight had another minute left, does “Chito” win that fight? O’Malley probably would have recovered, and he’s not afraid to lean into the theatrics, so we don’t really know how bad that body shot was…
Kyte: It looked pretty bad.