Merab Dvalishvili dominated Sean O’Malley to take the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
In his highly-awaited title shot, Dvalishvili’s suffocating grappling took over as he kept the now-former champion O’Malley in clamps for most of the 25-minute affair.
Dvalishvili’s overwhelming pace and cardio, combined with his disciplined game plan earned him 49-47, 48-47, and 48-47 on the judges’ scorecards and the unanimous decision.
The bout had several bizarre moments, including Dvalishvili getting into a verbal exchange with O’Malley’s corner seconds into the fight. Later in the contest, Dvalishvili repeatedly kissed O’Malley on the back of his head in the dying minutes of the second round.
Nonetheless, he shut down O’Malley’s striking, as he marched forward and forced the fight onto the ground where he found success.
Merab Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision in the UFC 306 main event
O’Malley failed to impose his striking as his rival kept him on the canvas for five rounds
The win moves the newly-crowned champion to 18-4 in his MMA career. On the other hand, O’Malley was handed his second loss as he moved to 18-2.
Suga Sean headed into the fight after avenging his only loss to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in March.
O’Malley tied together 12 straight wins as a pro before stumbling upon Vera in 2020. From there, the Montana native went undefeated for six fights. O’Malley dethroned Dvalishvili’s training partner, Aljamain Sterling, from bantamweight kingship in August of 2023 before correcting his lone career blemish in March.
On the other hand, Dvalishvili came behind wins over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The Georgian wrestler entered Saturday’s matchup on a ten-fight win streak.
UFC 306 was also named ‘Noche UFC’ in honor of Mexican Independence Day.
Valentina Shevchenko dominated Alexa Grasso to earn a decision and regain her title
Diego Lopes extended his streak to five fights with a win over No 3 featherweight Brian Ortega
The card featured seven fighters of Mexican heritage, spearheaded by Alexa Grasso, who was dominated by Valentina Shevchenko to close the first women’s trilogy in UFC history.
For five rounds, The Bullet imposed her wrestling and kept Grasso’s back on the canvas to regain her title via unanimous decision.
Before Saturday, Grasso dethroned Shevchenko in March of 2023 via submission. The pair met again in the first rendition of Noche UFC and fought to a controversial draw.
In a featured bout, rising featherweight Diego Lopes extended his win streak to five fights with a unanimous decision over No 3 Brian Ortega.
The win moved the Brazilian to 26-6 and in serious contention for the 145lb title. On the other hand, T City moved to 16-4 with the loss.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk