Merab Dvalishvili made good use of his high-level wrestling skills to get the better of Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC (UFC 306) and bag the UFC bantamweight gold. O’Malley couldn’t find many openings to unleash his formidable striking skills in the fight, eventually subjecting himself to a defeat.
With his rematch against O’Malley less than two weeks away, Dvalishvili made a massive revelation about the upcoming encounter.
Sean O’Malley Rematch Isn’t Motivating Enough for Merab Dvalishvili
Dvalishvili made the most of his title shot at Noche UFC. The reigning bantamweight king played according to his strengths right from the beginning of his bantamweight title fight against O’Malley. Dvalishvili stayed out of O’Malley’s striking range for most of the fight, making it difficult for his rival to find any momentum.
“The Machine” also kept disrupting O’Malley’s rhythm with his well-timed takedowns throughout the fight. “Sugar” found some success in the fourth and final rounds of the fight after he started targeting Dvalishvili’s body, but he failed to do enough to win the battle, losing his bantamweight title to his rival.
The rematch between Dvalishvili and O’Malley is set to headline UFC 316 on June 7. A recent X update from @RedCorner_MMA highlighted a section of Davlishvili’s interview with the UFC where he spoke about his mental frame for his upcoming fight.
Dvalishvili, known for his never-give-up attitude, surprisingly mentioned that staying “motivated” for the O’Malley rematch is turning out to be a challenge. “It’s hard to motivate myself, you know, [because I’m] fighting the same guy,” he said.
However, the reigning bantamweight champ accepted that the course of the encounter might be significantly different as he would be facing a “more dangerous” version of his rival. Dvalishvili mentioned how he had effectively countered O’Malley’s game plan in their first fight and predicted his rival’s approach for the rematch.
“I know this guy will be more dangerous [in the rematch]. In the first fight, I had a game plan. I knew it would work against him. I stopped his game plan. Now, I know what game plan he will have. I’m guessing, he’s gonna attack from the beginning with his striking [and] body kicks.”
“It’s hard to motivate myself because I’m fighting the same guy.” — Merab Dvalishvili on rematch with Sean O’Malley 🥱
🎥 @ufc pic.twitter.com/uSKiqmhukY
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 25, 2025
Dvalishvili’s UFC career speaks volumes about his dedication to the sport. “The Machine” picked up consecutive defeats in his first two UFC fights but refused to stay down even after enduring such a massive setback. Dvalishvili earned his first UFC victory in his third fight against Terrion Ware on September 15, 2018.
Dvalishvili’s confidence skyrocketed after he earned his first win in the promotion. The Georgian won his next nine UFC contests, amassing a remarkable ten-fight winning streak and making his case for a title shot at Noche UFC.
Dvalishvili is currently on a twelve-fight winning streak after achieving victories in both of his title fights at UFC 306 and UFC 311. However, a lack of motivation for his upcoming fight at UFC 316 might subject him to another setback, demoting him to just another bantamweight contender from the current champion.
