A bantamweight championship rematch headlined Saturday’s UFC 316 fight card at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Champion Merab Dvalishvili faced former titleholder Sean O’Malley.
The two first fought at the historic UFC 306 event at The Sphere in Las Vegas last September. Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley via unanimous decision and planned to finish “Suga” the second time around.
O’Malley entered the bout having not fought since their UFC 306 clash. He underwent hip surgery following the loss and believed the healed and improved version of himself would be enough to even the score with “The Machine.”
Dvalishvili made the walk to the octagon riding an incredible 12-fight winning streak. The last time he tasted defeat was in April 2018.
O’Malley pressured Dvalishvili to start the fight. He delivered a spinning back kick to the body. Dvalishvili began moving forward. O’Malley circled on the outside. He landed to the body with a right hand. O’Malley landed his jab. Dvalishvili responded with a left hand. Dvalishvili turned up the pressure. O’Malley circled away and landed a front kick to the body. Dvalishvili connected with a left hand. He secured a takedown. O’Malley quickly got back to his feet. They exchanged knees to the body before separating, Dvalishvili landed a left hand. He closed the distance and worked to get the fight to the ground. He secured the takedown and landed two punches. O’Malley worked his way to his feet in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dvalishvili.
O’Malley took the center of the octagon to start the second. Dvalishvili moved forward; O’Malley went to the body with a right hand and Dvalishvili responded with a combination. O’Malley connected with a right hand. O’Malley delivered a front kick to the body and Dvalishvili reacted with a left hook. O’Malley targeted Dvalishvili’s body. Dvalishvili looked for a takedown but O’Malley defended the attempt. Dvalishvili chased O’Malley. O’Malley’s left hand found a home. Dvalishvili responded with a right hand. O’Malley continued to target the body but he kept getting hit with counters when he did. O’Malley stuffed a takedown attempt. O’Malley connected with a right hand. Dvalishvili pressed forward with punches but not much got through. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili pressed forward looking for a takedown to star the third. O’Malley shook it off. Dvalishvili elevated O’Malley and slammed him to the canvas. Dvalishvili didn’t do much from top position. O’Malley worked to control Dvalishvili’s posture. Dvalishvili kept heavy top pressure. O’Malley got to his knees and then to his feet. Dvalishvili delivered knees to the hip of O’Malley and took him down again. Dvalishvili delivered short punches as O’Malley tried to stand. Dvalishvili drug him back to the canvas. Dvalishvili locked on a guillotine choke. O’Malley rolled to his back but was forced to tap out.
The official time of the submission win was 4:42 of the third round.
