Merab Dvalishvili Retains Title with Second Win Over Sean O’Malley
At UFC 316, Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili scored a second win over rival Sean O’Malley to retain his title. The champ has been on a seven-year streak, and the win marked his second title defence and 13th consecutive UFC victory. O’Malley lost the belt in September 2024 and was able to bide his time until getting a rematch. Unfortunately for the former champion, the second fight played out much like the first, and he again fell short.
The dynamics of the fight were very similar to the first bout, but both men appeared to have refined their games in preparation for the rematch. Dvalishvili showcased a more confident and crisp boxing game, wobbling the former champ on a couple of occasions with clean right hands. He engaged a bit more readily, although the game plan was the same at its core. He largely utilized his superior footwork to slide out of the way of O’Malley’s attacks while looking for opportunities to shoot for takedowns. For his part, O’Malley showcased an improved wrestling foundation. Merab landed 2/4 takedown attempts in the first round before being shut out at 0/4 in the second.
However, in the third, Merab Dvalishvili brought his strategy to bear. He landed 3/4 takedowns and notched over 4 minutes of control time. With 25 seconds left in the round, the champion sunk in a choke as “Suga” attempted to scramble to his feet. The challenger accepted defeat and tapped out at 4:42 of the round.
The Machine Keeps Churning
After his victory at UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili looks unstoppable. Just two defences into his title reign, he has already largely cleared the division. En route to his first championship fight, he had already handily defeated all-time greats Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. In his first defence, he bested his sternest challenger on paper, then-undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong are the only top opponents the Georgian has yet to fight. Sandhagen is the heir apparent to #1 Contender and has a balanced and dangerous skillset that could pose a real challenge for the champion.He’s coming off an impressively dominant stoppage of former champion Deiveson Figueiredo, which saw many fans believing he’d done enough to finally earn his first title shot.
The Sugar Starts to Sour
Sean O’Malley finds himself on the other side of the coin. After a disappointing showing in his bid to reclaim the strap, he is 0-2 against the current champion. We haven’t seen much in either fight to suggest he has more than a knockout artist’s chance at besting Dvalishvili. We could see O’Malley square off with Song Yadong next. In addition to the title implications, it would be the sort of kickboxing-heavy war that fans love.
Whoever his next opponent is, he’ll have to feel the pressure of a man with his back against the wall. Going 0-3 even against top competition would put him in a serious hole from which to climb back into title contention. Another option would be a reprise of his fight with Petr Yan if Yan is not granted a #1 Contender fight against Sandhagen. Fans were sharply divided on their first fight, with many feeling Yan deserved to win the decision.
Whatever the exact matchmaking after UFC 316, the Bantamweight division has a lot of talent. Merab Dvalishvili has the appearance of a man who could forge a true dynasty as champion, but time will tell if he can weather the storm and make that vision a reality.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
