Outside Source
Merab Dvalishvili became a UFC star overnight.
The Georgian bantamweight won the UFC title against Sean O’Malley in a close five-round battle in the main event of UFC 306 on Sept. 14, 2024. Dvalishvili won via unanimous decision, getting the nod with 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 scores from the judges.
It was the first event held in the Sphere in Las Vegas. In the fight, Dvalishvili secured 6 of 15 takedowns in the fight for a 40 percent clip. The champion landed 214 strikes compared to O’Malley’s 49 strikes in the fight, according to the UFC stats.
Since that night, Dvalishvili defended his title with a Fight of the Night performance against Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 311 this past January. Dvalishvili won the fight via unanimous decision – 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.
Dvalishvili will clash again with O’Malley in a rematch at UFC 316 on Saturday night. It will be Dvalishvili’s second UFC title defense. This will be O’Malley’s first fight since losing his title.
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
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