The first time Merab
Dvalishvili faced Sean O’Malley, the primary goal was to walk
away with bantamweight gold.
While he admittedly played it a little more safe in what was
nonetheless a dominant unanimous decision triumph at UFC 306, “The
Machine” decided to get a little more aggressive in their rematch.
The end result was a third-round submission victory in the UFC 316
headliner on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New
Jersey.
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“First time, I said, this one I was fighting for the belt. I wanted
to win this. I know I was winning, and I don’t risk it too much,”
Dvalishvili said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I
wanted to just grab it one time. I just wanted to win one time.
Now, I risk — not risk — but I play more open. I wanted to win the
first time, especially against a dangerous opponent like Sean
O’Malley.”
O’Malley made his own improvements, including surgery for an
injured hip that plagued him in their first meeting as well as a
number of lifestyle changes. While “Suga” did appear to be more
aggressive with his striking, his takedown defense only held up for
so long. By Round 3, Dvalishvili was having his way, and he secured
victory with a modified north-south choke at the 4:42 mark of the
frame. O’Malley had no choice but to tip his proverbial cap to his
opponent in the aftermath.
“I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that, unfortunately it
did,” O’Malley said in his post-fight interview. “Merab’s a
motherf—-ker. I just wanted to stick around and thank everybody
that came out and supported us. If it wasn’t for you guys, this s—t
wouldn’t be possible. I feel super, super grateful right now that I
get to do this.”
“I have a two-week[-old] at home, a four-year-old at home, and a
perfect wife, so I’m excited to go home and spend time with them,
but Merab’s a motherf—ker.”
Dvalishvili now owns a 13-bout winning streak, tied for the
fourth-longest in UFC history. The Georgian already appears to have
a contender in waiting, as Cory
Sandhagen was in attendance at UFC 316 on Saturday. It’s a
matchup that Dvalishvili welcomes with open arms.
“Top of my head, he’s the best, deserving guy in this division
right now,” Dvalishvili said. “Especially he was fighting always
the best of the best. He’s a company guy, a very respectful guy,
hard worker guy, super talented, super good, and I think he
deserves the most. And if the UFC wants, I’m happy. I want to be
busy.”