A fight years in the making saw bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley put his title on the line against Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 at The Sphere on Saturday.
While the card was billed as Noche UFC in celebration of Mexican Independence Day, it didn’t matter who was representing which nation in a fight that saw the two best bantamweights on the planet face off.
The UFC 306 main event started with a bit of strangeness. With the fight barely underway, Dvalishvili signaled at something in the corner of Sean O’Malley, perhaps concerned with something the champ’s corner had said (later revealed to be excessive coaching). The ref admonished Dvalishvili for essentially calling his own time out, exclaiming that he would do his job, and Merab should focus on his own.
With ref Herb Dean having settled Dvalishvili down, the action resumed, with O’Malley circling and Merab holding his own at center. The first takedown attempt came three minutes in, with Dvalishvili landing it, and O’Malley springing back to his feet a moment later. Dvalishvili stayed on the champ, dragging him back to his knees, but O’Malley would free himself with just over a minute in the round. The champ fanned on a spinning kick in the dying seconds of the frame, and they moved on to round two.
It was under two minutes, mostly spent circling and feinting, before Dvalishvili had the fight down in round two. A well-timed level change saw him plant O’Malley well away from the fence. That allowed Merab to get in guard, and work to pass, posturing up for some big punches as well, though he had to avoid an upkick. O’Malley went after a triangle arm-bar, but saw the fight paused after he grabbed inside Merab’s glove. With the action resumed, Merab managed to keep O’Malley down, and while the champ made it to the fence, he was pinned there eating shots.
Dvalishvili would finish the round off a guillotine choke attempt, then kissed O’Malley’s back repeatedly, drawing a warning from the ref for that rather unique spectacle.
Round three opened with Dvalishvili light on his feet. He grabbed a leg 90 seconds in and took an off-balance O’Malley to the fence, trapping him there. O’Malley would endure a couple of knees, one grazing the head while the champ was a downed opponent. No halt to the action, and luckily no impact on the fight; O’Malley would escape out shortly after. He then had his best moments of the opening three rounds, connecting a couple of times upstairs with well-placed punches.
With Dvalishvili arguably up heading into the championship rounds, Sean O’Malley would need to build on the momentum he’d found at the end of the third. That seemed to play out early, with O’Malley stuffing a takedown attempt, and connecting as the challenger exited. Moments later, however, Dvalishvili had landed another takedown, at least his fourth of the fight. He found himself in half guard, and O’Malley found himself a good way’s off from the fence. Dvalishvili pounded the body, and was active from top position. He looked to isolate an arm, and when O’Malley looked to scramble free, Dvalishvili was there to block his exit. By the end of round four, it was clear Merab Dvalishvili was making the champ’s night miserable. The round finished with a guillotine attempt, then a flurry of strikes by the Georgian.
The final frame of the UFC’s only planned show at The Sphere arrived with Sean O’Malley needing a game-changing, fight-ending moment. The champ would get a little offense in, even bloodying Merab’s nose a little. He’d land a kick to the body with under two minutes remaining, sending Dvalishvili into a hasty retreat. Suddenly, the complexion of the round had changed. Merab shot in on a leg, but O’Malley stuffed it, and fired a knee down the middle. O’Malley began spamming kicks, but one final takedown by Merab Dvalishvili took the wind out of his sails.
Official Result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
