A bantamweight championship rematch between titleholder Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Sean O’Malley headlines Saturday’s UFC 316 fight card.
Dvalishvili took the title from O’Malley when they first fought at UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas last September. O’Malley looks to even the score at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes O’Malley will win back the title and do so by knockout.
“Merab took the belt off Sean in dominant fashion even though the fight was back and forth. It had its moments,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “Sean had his moments as well, but it’s just Merab’s cardio. That’s the machine, bro. He didn’t really do as much damage when he took him down but he was able to take him down.”
“Sean’s pretty slick on the ground. He submitted Takanori Gomi at the UFC grappling event. He’s been training grappling heavy for this fight,” continued Adesanya.
“The Last Stylebender” briefly trained with O’Malley during a visit to O’Malley’s Montana home and was impressed with how focused “Suga” was heading into the rematch.
Related: UFC 316 main event weigh-in video: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley
“I see the way he’s taking this really seriously,” Adesanya said. “He’s done the work. He’s lived the stoic, the boring life for this fight, and it’s showing. When you hang out with him you can see it.”
“It’s a hard fight but I’m going to go Sean O’Malley because I believe,” Adesanya revealed. “I’ve seen the work he’s done this camp. Not just in the gym, the stuff outside the gym. I love the discipline. I love the focus… I just feel like Sean is dialed in, and Sean can catch him. Merab gets hit and Sean can catch him. Official pick, I’m going to go Sean O’Malley. And it’s going to be the return of the Suga Show. Knockout, round 2.”
