Merab Dvalishvili recently reflected on his title victory over Sean O'Malley in the headlining bout of Noche UFC 306. Last weekend, under the lights of the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, 'The Machine' fulfilled his long-held dream of becoming the UFC bantamweight champion, delivering a commanding performance to dethrone O'Malley.
Dvalishvili maintained control for the better part of the contest, delivering impactful strikes on the ground while successfully shutting down any threats from O'Malley's stand-up game. In the end, the Georgian fighter secured a unanimous decision victory.
'The Machine' recently took X and shared his thoughts on winning the 135-pound title. Dvalishvili expressed that he had dedicated his entire life to reaching this moment, and now that he has achieved his dream, he wants to extend his heartfelt gratitude to his fans, coaches, and all those who have supported him along the way.
In another post, Dvalishvili explained the reason behind cheekily kissing 'Sugar' on the back during their grappling exchange against the cage at the end of the second round: He wrote:
"I also wanted to explain what happened during the fight - when I got O'Malley in the choke... I heard 10 seconds and knew I didn't have enough time for a submission, so I decided to show him who the daddy was of this fight and gave him back a few kisses, LOL. When the ref [referee] touched me, I thought it was break time, so I started walking to my corner .. but there were still three seconds - he was just telling me to stop kissing him. LOL!"
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post below:
Merab Dvalishvili discusses why he momentarily stopped fighting and pointed at Sean O'Malley's corner in first round
A major controversy unfolded when Merab Dvalishvili briefly halted the action and fiercely pointed toward Sean O'Malley's corner merely seconds into the first round. This prompted referee Herb Dean to step in and issue a stern warning to 'The Machine'.
Dvalishvili took to X to shed light on what unfolded during the puzzling moment. The newly crowned bantamweight champion revealed that O'Malley's corner had been shouting at him, and he emphasized that he was determined to prevent a repeat of the incident at UFC 292, where Tim Welch had called out his teammate Aljamain Sterling’s name.
He wrote:
"I was trying to stay professional and focus on the fight only, not wanting to change the energy of the fight. I made no eye contact with O'Malley's team. BUT when the fight started I hear his team calling out to me - Merab.. trying to coach , provoke and distract me. I yelled back at them cut it out and coach your own guy. I remembered they pulled the same crap with Aljo. Not professional .. this is the way they want their Fighter to win. It’s a shame how disrespectful they are and that they have zero sportsmanship!"
Check out Merab Dvalishvili's post below: