Merab Dvalishvili | Machine Learning

Bantamweight titleholder Merab Dvalishvili had used every minute of his allotted time over his previous five fights heading into his championship rematch with Sean O’Malley earlier this year at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey. Over that five-fight run, which began with his victory over former featherweight champ Jose Aldo and ran through his UFC 311 rally to defeat Umar Nurmagomedov in his first title defense of the year, “The Machine” had logged 105 minutes of Octagon time — 21 total rounds — to ascend to and cement his standing atop the 135-pound weight class.

So it’s not surprising that things felt a little different for Dvalishvili after he submitted O’Malley late in the third round to…