Sean O’Malley had an opportunity — one many fans felt was undeserved — to re-establish himself as MMA’s biggest star with a win over Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey.
Instead, it was the reigning champion Dvalishvili who all but secured his status as the greatest bantamweight fighter in UFC history with his second win over O’Malley in nine months.
Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley by submission at 4:42 of the second round, forcing O’Malley to tap after being caught in a tight headlock.
Saturday’s win marked Dvalishvili’s second title defense since winning the belt over O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. The Georgian phenom also beat Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January while O’Malley recovered from injuries sustained prior to their first bout.
“We don’t know (what it would take to beat Merab),” UFC President Dana White said. “O’Malley came in 100 percent healthy and ready — mentally, physically, in every way he could be ready for this fight — and Merab finished him.
“He’s definitely there (as the greatest bantamweight of all time), and he will keep racking them up, I’m sure. An Umar rematch is interesting. It makes your legacy even better when you ran through everybody twice.”
O’Malley had insisted he was entering UFC 316 in the best shape of his career. He quit smoking weed and stepped away from social media. He leaned into a more family- and career-oriented version of himself. His coach even blamed the lighting and visuals at the Sphere for O’Malley’s lackluster performance at UFC 306.
With those distractions gone and a new lease on life, O’Malley figured to deliver a more convincing performance. Many fans — and even media members — bought into the belief that his mental reset gave him betting value.
“I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that,” O’Malley said. “Unfortunately, it did. Merab is a motherf—er. I have a 2-week-old at home, a 4-year-old at home and a perfect wife, so I’m excited to go home and spend some time with them. But Merab is a motherf—er.”
The reality is that the strides O’Malley made since September proved irrelevant. Dvalishvili has evolved from what many once deemed a “boring” champion into someone now being discussed alongside Islam Makhachev as one of the most dominant pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
“To be honest, I’m just getting better everywhere,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m not only focused on one thing. During the training camp, the game plan changed. Sometimes when I’m doing body shots good, I’m going to punch his body. Sometimes I look good in striking, I’m going to keep striking. At this camp, I was not thinking about wrestling much.”
Even Dvalishvili admitted he bought into some of O’Malley’s excuses from UFC 306, unsure whether his opponent would show something different this time around.
“How he was talking and making excuses, I’m like, OK, maybe it really wasn’t his night,” Dvalishvili said. “Maybe he is something special and he’s going to stop my wrestling takedowns, and then I have to go strike. I was ready. That’s why I was giving him again too much respect.”
