"Cartilage pathology is very common" - MMA doctor says Sean O'Malley's surgery-requiring injury was a non-factor in his defeat at Noche UFC 306

Former UFC bantamweight king Sean O'Malley recently revealed that he suffered a labral tear in his hip 10 weeks prior to his fight at Noche UFC 306, which went down on Sept. 14. He went on to share that he plans on getting a surgery to address the issue, and could potentially be out of action for quite some time.

In the main event of Noche UFC 306, O'Malley found himself on the wrong side of the judges' scorecards, and lost his title to Merab Dvalishvili. After revealing that he sustained an injury prior to the bout, many have begun speculating as to whether the injury could have hampered his performance on the night.

When Dana White was asked for his thoughts on the matter, he claimed that it would not have been possible for doctors to detect O'Malley's injury prior to the fight.

Dr. David Abbasi, an orthopedic sports surgeon, downplayed the injury altogether. He uploaded a video to his X account and in the clip, claimed that O'Malley's injury could have been detected via an MRI test, while also stating that it wasn't a serious injury. He said:

"The fact that there's a labral tear in Sean O'Malley does not mean that he could not compete at a high level... I have seen very elite MMA fighters in the UFC currently with nasty cartilage injuries, minuscus tears, they are competing for the belt. So, if you wanna find something wrong, all you gotta do is MRI somebody... The fact that he competed and was not checked by doctors is ridiculous. He was just fine to compete and he did just fine."

In th caption of the post, Abbasi shared that cartilage injuries were common among MMA athletes and once again, implied that O'Malley could have possibly competed at the best of his abilities. He wrote:

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Cartilage pathology is very common in pro MMA athletes. They can have completely no symptoms and can still perform at the highest levels!"

Check out Abbasi's video below:

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How did Sean O'Malley perform at Noche UFC 306?

In the main event of Noche UFC 306, O'Malley was largely outclassed for the majority of the fight. The three judges scored the bout 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili.

'The Machine's' pressure and strategy appeared to be too much for O'Malley, who struggled to deal with the takedown threat his opponent presented. For much of the contest, he struggled to land significant strikes or hurt his opponent.

After the fight, the former champion uploaded a post on X, apologizing to his fans for his lackluster performance. He wrote:

"Over-promised and under-delivered. Sorry. Love you guys."

Check out Sean O'Malley's post below: