Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Sean O’Malley 2

A rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley serves as the main event of the next UFC pay-per-view fight card. Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 is the headlining bout of UFC 316, which takes place on Saturday, June 7, from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

In the first meeting between these two, Dvalishvili scored a unanimous decision win over O’Malley to win the UFC bantamweight title. Dvalishvili’s victory ended O’Malley’s title reign after one defense, a decision win over Marlon Vera.

ForbesUFC Announces First Eight Fights For UFC 316 Pay-Per-View CardBy Trent Reinsmith

UFC 316 Fight Card Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Sean O’Malley 2

Merab Dvalishvili (19-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion’s 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision win over then-champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306.

The 33-year-old Dvalishvili joined the UFC in 2017 as much-hyped prospect. At the time, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.

Dvalishvili did not have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. Falling to Frankie Saenz by decision, and the second, to Ricky Simon, via submission. In September 2018, things clicked in place for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, and he has not lost since.

Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Prior to his matchup against O’Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight. Dvalishvili extended that streak to 12 when he defended his title with a unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.

Sean O’Malley (18-2-0-1) was 7-0 with six finishes when he got the chance to fight for a UFC contract on the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2017. O’Malley, scored a first-round knockout, and a UFC contract that night.

He went 4-0 in his first bouts with the promotion, picking up three fight-night bonus awards for his efforts, including a brutal one-punch KO win over UFC veteran Eddie Wineland at UFC 250.

The win over Wineland put O’Malley at No. 14 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and got him a fight against Marlon “Chito” Vera. Vera won that fight by TKO, handing O’Malley the only defeat on his record.

The loss to Vera knocked O’Malley out of the rankings, but he bounced back in his next fight, knocking out Thomas Almeida and earning another fight-night bonus in the process. He followed that win with a TKO win over Kris Moutinho.

Despite those back-to-back wins, O’Malley remained unranked when he next stepped into the Octagon for a December 2021 matchup against Raulian Paiva. O’Malley wrapped that fight up with a knockout at the 4:42 mark of the first round. That victory put O’Malley back in the rankings.

O’Malley’s next bout ended in a no contest, when an eye poke in the second round left Pedro Munhoz unable to continue.

Then, in October 2022, O’Malley was matched up with former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. He entered that contest as the +230 underdog to the -275 ex-champ. The pair went the three-round distance, with O’Malley getting the split decision nod. That victory set up O’Malley to face Sterling in August 2023.

O’Malley has not fought since his loss to Dvalishvili. He is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.

UFC 316 Fight Card Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Sean O’Malley 2 Opening Odds

When BetOnline first announced the betting odds for the UFC Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 matchup, the defending champ was listed as the -300 betting favorite over O’Malley, who came in at +240. Today, Dvalishvili has -265 odds, while the former UFC bantamweight champ is the +225 betting underdog.

We will more on the UFC 316 fight card and the Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 bout as fight night approaches. Another title fight between UFC women’s bantamweight champ Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison serves as the UFC 316 co-main event.