Sean O’Malley still has hopes that he can beat Merab Dvalishvili in a potential trilogy bout. For now, O’Malley is scheduled to fight Song Yadong next year at UFC 324, and Dvalishvili will run it back with Petr Yan this weekend at UFC 323.
‘Suga’ lost his bantamweight championship to ‘The Machine’ in 2024. The two ran it back earlier this year at UFC 316. For the title rematch, although O’Malley worked on his takedown defense, it was still not enough. Dvalishvili forced the tap from O’Malley in Round 3 by submitting him with a north-south choke.