Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title at UFC 316, held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Georgian fighter secured a third-round victory over challenger Sean O’Malley, showcasing a dominant performance that ended with a stoppage at 4:32. The event drew significant attention with U.S. President Donald Trump in attendance, adding to the atmosphere as a crowd of 17,300 filled the arena. Dvalishvili’s win improved his professional record to 19-4, marking his first successful title defense since winning the belt in November 2024. O’Malley, with a record of 18-2 prior to the fight, faced his second career loss, having previously been knocked out by Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling in 2022. The fight featured Dvalishvili landing 142 significant strikes compared to O’Malley’s 58, with a notable moment in the third round where Dvalishvili executed a takedown and maintained control, prompting referee Herb Dean to stop the bout. The event’s main card also included a unanimous decision victory for Mario Bautista over Patchy Mix, with scores of 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27, bringing Bautista’s win streak to eight and totaling 173 significant strikes landed, the fourth-highest in a three-round UFC bantamweight fight. UFC 316 highlighted Dvalishvili’s growing dominance, with over 20,000 mentions on X reflecting fan engagement, and set the stage for future title contenders as the promotion looks ahead to its next event on June 21 in Azerbaijan.
34news.online
34news.online
