- UFC. Trump sets feud with Musk aside and attends UFC fight
- UFC. Merab Dvalishvili submits O'Malley, retains title and becomes a UFC superstar
UFC 316 had a clear main protagonist: Merab Dvalishvili (20-4). 'The Machine' submitted Sean O'Malley (18-3) in the third round of the main event to retain the bantamweight title and extend his winning streak in the company to 13.
This puts him in the fourth best winning streak in UFC history, and puts him squarely in the conversation for being the greatest of all time in his division. Today, 'The Machine' has no rival at 135 pounds, has defended the belt on two occasions and intends to fight once more in 2025 to continue to increase his legacy.
Getting a 13-fight winning streak is something that very few fighters, legends, can achieve. In fact, Merab has ed a select club of historic names: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jon Jones, George St-Pierre, Max Holloway and Demetrious Johnson.
Thanks to the emphatic victory over 'Suga', 'The Machine' is just three wins away from the longest streak in UFC history, which is held by Anderson Silva. Although Dvalishvili has finished only two of his 13 victories, he has few boring fights thanks to a cardio and wrestling that make him practically unbeatable.
I never thought I would get this, especially after my first two controversial defeats in the UFC
Once he beat O'Malley and went to the press conference, Merab was incredulous at what he had achieved. "I never thought I would achieve this, especially after my first two controversial defeats in the UFC. I was hoping that the UFC would not kick me out at that time, and now I'm very grateful. It's hard to imagine for me. I'm just a normal guy coming from a small country. I just had the goal of fighting in the UFC, and now I'm making history. It's amazing," he said.
Sandhagen next up
Once he had consummated his victory over O'Malley, Merab himself said in the octagon interview that his next defense he wants to be against Cory Sandhagen, who comes from finishing Deiveson Figueiredo and is one of the few fighters in the top of the category to whom he has not yet faced
In fact, the American fighter was present at the event, and the two had a friendly encounter backstage in which they agreed to fight in the short term. If this fight were to take place, it would be a war of styles between Sandhagen's striking and Merab's wrestling, although the American's ground skills are better than O'Malley's, who looked very inferior to 'The Machine' in this area.
He's the guy who deserves it the most in the division
"He's the guy who deserves it the most in the division. We've never fought each other. You respect me, I respect you. That said, I'm going to take a little vacation," Merab told Sandhagen in the locker room, who replied with a "me too". When both are ready, the UFC will surely make official a fight that can further increase the legacy of Merab. The bantamweight division has had great champions such as TJ Dillashaw or Dominick Cruz, but Dvalishvili is determined to sur them and become the greatest of all time.