Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley effortlessly in the main event of UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, securing a third-round modified choke in their rematch to retain the bantamweight championship.
With United States President Donald Trump watching from cageside on Saturday night, Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA) emphatically displayed his wrestling base to tire out the former champion and make an argument as one of the sport’s best bantamweights, perhaps of all time.
Dvalishvili, who won at 4:42 of the third round for his 13th consecutive victory, said he would welcome his next title defence against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA), a winner of four of his last five fights.
“You’re the man, let’s go,” Dvalishvili said, indicating that he would be interested in fighting Sandhagen next.
O’Malley (18