Merab Dvalishvili has been a grappling beast his whole MMA career, but the one knock on him may have been a lack of finishes.
That knock can't be applied to him in his performance at UFC 316, as he submitted Sean O'Malley in the main event to retain the UFC bantamweight championship.
O'Malley stayed on the outside and tried to keep distance early in the opening round. While O'Malley scored a couple of decent shots early, a pair of slips, led him into Dvalishvili's grasp. The defending champ scored a pair of takedowns during the round, delivering the same kind of top pressure that troubled O'Malley in their first meeting.
The second round proved to be much closer, with both men having moments. Dvalishvili continued with his relentless grappling pressure, but O'Malley appeared to land the stronger strikes -- and defended most of Dvalishvili's takedown attempts well enough.
The third round, however, saw Dvalishvili land a big takedown on O'Malley. No matter O'Malley's defenses, Dvalishili's top pressure was too much. Late in the round, Dvalishvili managed to lock up a D'Arce choke, even when O'Malley gets his back to the mat, putting Dvalishvili in the North-South position. The North-South choke scored Dvalishvili the tap to retain the gold.
This was a rematch from Noche UFC 2 (UFC 306), which saw Dvalishvili score a decision over O'Malley to capture the 135-pound championship.
This was Dvalishvili's second bantamweight title defense. He retained the title in comeback decision fashion against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
This was O'Malley's first fight since losing the title. It's just his third professional MMA loss and second time being finished -- following his loss to Marlon "Chito" Vera five years ago.
Merab Dvalishvili has been a grappling beast his whole MMA career, but the one knock on him may have been a lack of finishes.
That knock can't be applied to him in his performance at UFC 316, as he submitted Sean O'Malley in the main event to retain the UFC bantamweight championship.
O'Malley stayed on the outside and tried to keep distance early in the opening round. While O'Malley scored a couple of decent shots early, a pair of slips, led him into Dvalishvili's grasp. The defending champ scored a pair of takedowns during the round, delivering the same kind of top pressure that troubled O'Malley in their first meeting.
The second round proved to be much closer, with both men having moments. Dvalishvili continued with his relentless grappling pressure, but O'Malley appeared to land the stronger strikes -- and defended most of Dvalishvili's takedown attempts well enough.
The third round, however, saw Dvalishvili land a big takedown on O'Malley. No matter O'Malley's defenses, Dvalishili's top pressure was too much. Late in the round, Dvalishvili managed to lock up a D'Arce choke, even when O'Malley gets his back to the mat, putting Dvalishvili in the North-South position. The North-South choke scored Dvalishvili the tap to retain the gold.
This was a rematch from Noche UFC 2 (UFC 306), which saw Dvalishvili score a decision over O'Malley to capture the 135-pound championship.
This was Dvalishvili's second bantamweight title defense. He retained the title in comeback decision fashion against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
This was O'Malley's first fight since losing the title. It's just his third professional MMA loss and second time being finished -- following his loss to Marlon "Chito" Vera five years ago.
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