On most fronts, Sean O’Malley’s first meeting with Merab Dvalishvili didn’t go as anticipated.
Paired off in the main event of UFC 306 last September at Sphere, O’Malley entered as the champion, seeking the second defense of his bantamweight tile, while Dvalishvili arrived as the hard-charging challenger, eager to avenge the loss suffered by his dear friend and long-time training partner Aljamain Sterling and claim championship gold for himself.
Dvalishvili largely dominated the fight, using his relentless wrestling and bottomless gas tank to dethrone the usually iridescent champion, whose output and flair was far more muted that first time around.