Dvalishvili dethrones O’Malley as UFC’s bantamweight king

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Georgian Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) Merab Dvalishvili was recently hailed as the new champion of the UFC bantamweight division after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Sean O’Malley at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

In a highly-anticipated style clash of the main event in UFC 306, it was the grappling and ground prowess of Dvalishvili that edged the stand-up striking of the former champion.

From the get-go, the Georgian grappler immediately put in the work, scoring a huge takedown two minutes after the official match bell rang while also tallying snappy right jabs that landed to O’Malley’s jaw.

In the closing seconds of the fight, O’Malley was able to land a clean left hook but Dvalishvili countered back with a quick 1-2 combination, giving him the first period of the championship fight.

O’Malley switched stance in the following round after getting exposed to Dvalishvili’s ground game but that move didn’t result in any positive takes as the Georgian challenger piled up the takedowns with the help of his strength in locking the latter’s legs.

Every time O’Malley attempted to sprawl away from the ground action, Dvalishvili was wise to hook his body with both of his arms, negating any way for the striker to escape his choke attempts.

Desperate for any momentum in the fight, O’Malley fired several haymakers and haunted Dvalishvili inside the octagon but none of that affected the fight.

Out of his eight total power swings, only one landed in the final round while Dvalishvili was taking him down at will and capped off the title-clinching win with a sneaky right straight.

All three of the official match judges scored the bout in favor of Dvalishvili, 49-46, 48-47, 48-47, extending his UFC winning streak to three straight victories.

On the other hand, O’Malley suffered his first loss in three years since falling to Marlon Vera and is looking to regain his title after taking a short break from the UFC.