The UFC has a new bantamweight champion and his name is Merab Dvalishvili.
Over the course of five rounds, Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) dominated Sean O'Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) for a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) to earn title gold in the UFC 306 main event. The card was double-branded as Noche UFC, the promotion’s Mexican Independence Day celebration, which took place at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Dvalishvili was draped all over O’Malley for much of five rounds. He utilized an aggressive, pressure-creating attack to fluster O’Malley’s offense, which was largely nonexistent. His cardio and pace proved to once again be the difference and reinforced his nickname “The Machine,”
O’Malley had a competitive third round, and a successful fifth round (due to a body shot), but outside of that, the success was limited. Dvalishvili dominated O’Malley in the wrestling department and also landed consistent ground-and-pound blows (despite referee Herb Dean’s controversial warnings for inactivity).
ELEVEN IN A ROW FOR THE MACHINE@MerabDvalishvil is taking home bantamweight GOLD tonight!
[ #UFC306 | @RiyadhSeason #NocheUFC ] pic.twitter.com/Ww1zD9iMQm
— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2024
Dvalishvili extends his winning streak to four. He entered the event with a head full of steam, off wins over Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo.
In defeat, O’Malley comes up short in his second title defense attempt. Prior to Saturday’s loss, his only other defeat was a 2020 injury TKO to Marlon Vera. He won the title against Aljamain Sterling in August 2023 and defended against Marlon Vera in March 2024.
After the fight, UFC commentator Joe Rogan indicated Umar Nurmagomedov is next for Dvalishvili. A split shot on the broadcast was immediately pulled up, though Dvalishvili seemed a bit thrown by the question.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 306 results include:
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Valentina Shevchenko def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)– to win women’s flyweight title
- Diego Lopes def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Esteban Ribovics def. Daniel Zellhuber via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ronaldo Rodriguez def. Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Norma Dumont def. Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Manuel Torres via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:02
- Ketlen Souza def. Yazmin Jauregui via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:02
- Joshua Van def. Edgar Chairez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Aori Qileng via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
