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Merab Dvalishvili made his second bantamweight title defense in a rematch against Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316. The pay-per-view event took place this past weekend at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
In their first meeting at Noche UFC 306, O'Malley, then champion, put his 135-pound belt on the line against Dvalishvili, who was coming off a 10-fight win streak. 'The Machine' displayed his impressive wrestling prowess and dethroned the American via unanimous decision.
The reigning champion made his first title defense against the then-unbeaten contender Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 earlier this year and astonished everyone with his endless cardio, winning via unanimous decision.
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As for O'Malley, after losing his throne, he went for surgery to repair a torn labrum suffered before his second title defense. The 30-year-old fully recovered and went into the contest with a great deal of confidence in his skills.
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Dvalishvili and O'Malley prepare for the final time before entering the octagon.
Dvalishvili, renowned for his wrestling abilities, secured a takedown in the opening round, but O'Malley managed to make it back to his feet. 'Sugar' stuffed several takedown attempts in the second round and landed a few strikes, but Dvalishvili displayed his improved striking to fire back.
Dvalishvili once again brought the fight to the ground, spending the majority of his time on top of the American, inflicting damage. With only 18 seconds left on the clock in the third round, the reigning champion caught O'Malley's neck with a tight anaconda choke, forcing the latter to tap.
Dvalishvili made his second successful title defense.
Following his win, Dvalishvili spoke to Joe Rogan inside the cage and opened up about his humble beginnings, encouraging others to work hard for their dreams.
