Merab Dvalishvili did to Sean O’Malley exactly what he did the first time. Then he made sure there would not be a third time.
Dvalishvili retained his UFC bantamweight title at UFC 316 in Newark on Saturday night, finishing O’Malley by north-south choke at 4:42 of the third round. It was Dvalishvili’s 13th consecutive win, and it left exactly zero room to argue O’Malley is in his league at 135 pounds.
The first fight between these two was a one-sided decision in Dvalishvili’s favor. O’Malley had spent the entire camp before the rematch promising adjustments, new strategy, new gameplan. None of it mattered. Dvalishvili did the same thing he always does. He moved forward, broke O’Malley with his pace, got the takedown when he wanted it, and choked him out when the opening came.
This is now the clearest top-of-division story in the UFC. Dvalishvili has beaten every relevant bantamweight in the world, and the gap between him and the rest of the 135-pound roster is enormous. There is no obvious next contender. O’Malley is not getting a third shot. Cory Sandhagen is rebuilding. Henry Cejudo is mostly retired.
That is the problem when a champion is this dominant in a division. The matchmaking gets harder. The pay-per-view audience starts asking who can actually beat him.
The co-main event was equally impressive. Kayla Harrison defeated Julianna Pena via kimura submission at 4:55 of the second round to win the women’s bantamweight championship. Harrison’s grappling is among the best in the sport, and Pena had no answer once Harrison closed the distance. That title change was expected by most prognosticators. It still made for a great moment.
The rest of the main card had its own stories. Joe Pyfer beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision, with one judge scoring it 30-27. That is a big result for Pyfer’s middleweight contender status. Mario Bautista beat Patchy Mix by unanimous decision in another important bantamweight matchup. Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque with a D’arce in the second round in a fight that had real action and a definitive finish.
Back to Dvalishvili. The Georgian fighter has now established himself as one of the most dominant champions in the entire UFC. His cardio is otherworldly. His takedown defense and offense are both top-tier. His ability to wear down opponents through volume and pressure is unique.
The pay-per-view audience at UFC 316 saw a champion who simply does not have a real challenger right now. Dana White will have to find one. The leading names are all roster guys who would be heavy underdogs.
O’Malley’s UFC future remains interesting. He is still a marketing draw, still has plenty of name recognition, and could move up in weight if he chooses. Going up to featherweight is a possibility. Staying at 135 and fighting for top contender spots is another. Either way, he will get fights and he will sell pay-per-views. He just is not getting another shot at Merab Dvalishvili.
That fight is over. The champion is on a different level.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
