Sean O'Malley to undergo hip surgery following UFC 306 title loss to Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O'Malley is going under the knife.

The former UFC bantamweight champion will get hip surgery early next month and is expected to be out of commission anywhere from six months to a year. O’Malley revealed the news in an interview with popular streamer Adin Ross following his championship loss at UFC 306.

“I have surgery on Oct. 3,” O’Malley said. “I tore my left labrum in my hip. That’s the only reason I’m going to be out for so long. This surgery should only take two months to come back from, then a couple of months recovery, so a year is a long time. It could be six to eight months. But you never know. … UFC won’t be the same without me.”

O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) said he suffered the injury about 10 weeks ago but still went through his training camp for his second title defense in Las Vegas this past Saturday. “Suga” went on to lose a dominant decision to Merab Dvalishvili in a performance UFC CEO Dana White called “flat.”

The loss to Dvalishvili snapped a seven-fight unbeaten streak for the 29-year-old O’Malley. It was also his second career defeat, as he had only lost to Marlon Vera, a defeat he avenged at UFC 299 in March.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.