Merab Dvalishvili easily defeated Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey, finishing the fight with a third-round choke to retain his bantamweight title.
With President Donald Trump watching ringside, Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA) showed off his wrestling skills, wearing down the former champion and underscoring his position as one of the greatest bantamweights in the history of the sport.
Dvalishvili, who picked up his 13th straight victory at 4:42 of the third round, said he was ready to make his next title defense against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA), who has won four of his last five fights.
“You're a real fighter, come on,” Dvalishvili said, hinting at interest in a fight with Sandhagen.
O'Malley (18-3 MMA) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili last September, dropping his title. O'Malley noted that the loss was a minor setback that gives him hope for a sustained comeback.
“Thank you guys 100 percent for coming,” O'Malley said.
In the co-main event, the women's bantamweight title changed hands as Kayla Harrison defeated Julianna Pena with a kimura submission in the second round.
After the fight, Harrison and Pena hugged in the octagon, demonstrating great skill to each other as Harrison controlled the fight.
In her post-fight interview, Harrison shared that cutting weight on Thursday night was so tough for her that she “wanted to quit,” but she said that would have been a mistake considering most MMA fighters don't become UFC champions.
Harrison (19-1 MMA) called out Pena’s (13-6 MMA) former opponent Amanda Nunes. Nunes (23-5 MMA) is a former two-division champion who retired in 2023. Over time, she has hinted at a possible return. It became more likely when Harrison and Nunes posed for a photo and discussed a fight later this year while the Prudential Center crowd reacted enthusiastically.
Middleweight Joe Pifer made a successful return to the UFC with a unanimous decision win over TUF alum Kelvin Gastelum, 29-28, 29-27, 30-27. Pifer (14-3 MMA) has won his last two fights, while Gastelum (19-10 MMA) has been in a long slump.
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Sourse: breakingnews.ie
