The Bigger Picture | UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2

This is going to be a little on the nose, but tough; it’s been stuck in my head since Merab Dvalishvili talked about continuing to evolve his game and get a little more aggressive in his pursuit of finishes: 

Remember in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, when we first see the T-1000 doing all his “well that’s new” T-1000 stuff like being all liquid and pulling his head back together after being shot? My reaction to that moment is akin to my reaction to seeing Dvalishvili submit Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title in the UFC 316 main event.

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Think about it: the OG Terminator was dangerous and menacing enough, and now there was this evolutionary version that had new tricks, new skills, and figuring out how to deal with him became even more difficult.

Dvalishvili was already dominant, entering the contest on a 12-fight winning streak and having left a trail of frustrated, exhausted bodies in his wake. Then on Saturday night, he came in doing OG Terminator things before shifting into T-1000 mode in the third round. After depositing O’Malley on the canvas, securing the position, and roughing him up a little bit, the champion attacked a no-arm D’Arce choke-slash-ninja choke variant that was immediately threatening and became downright inescapable as he rolled with O’Malley, who wasdesperately trying to escape.

Having pushed his winning streak to a baker’s dozen with just his second finish in this run showed that “The Machine” is continuing to update his software and add to his arsenal, despite already being the unquestioned top talent in the 135-pound weight class. He was largely unbothered by anything O’Malley threw at him, but scaled back the overt excitement in favor of more focused aggression, and the result was a tremendous performance that feels like it put the “best bantamweight of all-time” conversation to bed.

With all due respect to Dominick Cruz, who ruled the division across two organizations, multiple reigns, and several excellent wins, this run Dvalishvili is on is next level, rivaling some of the best overall runs any champion has had as they’ve worked their way towards the title and into their time on the throne. His last seven victories have come against former champions or title challengers, and he upped the ante on Saturday night by submitting O’Malley.

The 34-year-old is an absolute menace for anyone that shares the Octagon with him, and a joy to watch as a fan. What makes it even better — in my opinion — is that he is active and wants to stay that way. Saturday was his second successful title defense of the year, and before he stepped out of the cage, he was already publicly welcoming a fight with Cory Sandhagen, the presumptive No. 1 contender.

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Dvalishvili is on an insane run and seemingly getting better. If he can successfully defend his title again, he’ll match his close friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling for the most consecutive successful title defenses in bantamweight history, and move to two wins shy of equaling Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive UFC victories. 

At this moment, dethroning Dvalishvili looks like it’s going to be a Herculean task, but watching people try as the champion defends his position is going to remain wildly entertaining theatre.

A New Queen, A Monster Fight

Kayla Harrison ascended to the top of the women’s bantamweight division in Saturday’s UFC 316 co-main event, wrenching a tap out of Julianna Peña in the waning moments of the second round, reaching the goal she set out for herself when she signed with the promotion.

The two-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka did well to dictate the terms of engagement and force Pena backwards, allowing her to eventually close the distance, take the fight to the canvas, and control the action. In the first round, that resulted in Pena being penalized for a pair of illegal upkicks that landed while Harrison was grounded, and in the second, it led to the late finish.

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Situated in top position close to the fence, directly in front of her team, Harrison initially began hunting for an arm-triangle choke, working to burrow her head up and under Pena’s left arm. She got close, but seemed to recognize that her proximity to the fence would limit her ability to finish, as would the champion’s defensive work. So instead, Harrison switched off to a kimura as the 10-second clapper sounded, trapping the wrist and torquing the shoulder, bringing an immediate tap from Pena. 

The victory made Harrison just the second Olympic gold medalist to claim UFC gold, and put her in the conversation amongst the greatest combat athletes of all time. It also set up a colossal showdown that debuts as the most anticipated fight of the year.

At the end of her post-fight interview, Harrison acknowledged Amanda Nunes, the former two-division world champion and consensus greatest female fighter of all time, who was stationed in the front row, watching intently. “The Lioness” eventually made her way into the Octagon, congratulating the new champion and agreeing to the showdown everyone has wanted to seesince they were dominant figures in their respective promotions sharing the mats at American Top Team.

While the interaction was warm and complimentary, there is an undeniable rivalry there, and at some point later this year, we’re going to see how things shake out when they share the Octagon together. The dynamics of the matchup and myriad questions that encircle the contest are all fascinating to consider, and talk about this fight is going to continue to ramp up until the moment they stand opposite one another with the title hanging in the balance.

This is a superfight in every sense of the word, and it can’t get here fast enough. 

Big Night for Mario Bautista

The first of Saturday’s main card bantamweight contests was presented as “The Patchy Mix Show,” as the former Bellator champion and highly regarded new signee was set to make his debut. Boasting an outstanding resume and 20-1 record overall, Mix promised a dominant effort and many anticipated that’s what they would see.

Few forecasted that it would come from his unheralded opponent, Mario Bautista. 

The MMA Lab representative was crisp and quick from the outset, popping Mix’s head back with swift punches as the newcomer stood flat-footed, happy to engage on the feet. As the fight progressed, the dynamics didn’t really change, as Bautista continued to stick Mix with clean shots, bloodying his mouth en route to a clean sweep of the scorecards and an eighth straight victory in the treacherous 135-pound weight class.

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There might not be a more low-key contender in the UFC at the moment than the 31-year-old Bautista, who very seldom posts on social media and somehow says less, which keeps him stationed in the shadows in today’s attention-forward landscape. But his performances continue to speak volumes, and after edging out Jose Aldo in a competitive, low-output bout last October, Bautista left no room for debate on Saturday in turning Mix’s debut into his breakout effort.

Eight-fight winning streaks aren’t easy to come by in any weight class, and even more challenging to accumulate in a division like bantamweight, where the competition is ferocious. Bautista has gotten there without much fanfare, but that should change going forward, as his performance was close to flawless and he’s likely to find himself stationed next to someone with a single digit next to their name next time out.

Quick Hitters

Joe Pyfer collected a quality win over Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday’s main card, battering the former interim title challenger in the opening round before holding on down the stretch. The 28-year-old is now 5-1 in the UFC and continuing to make strides, positioning himself as one to keep tabs on in the deepening middleweight division.

Kevin Holland wrapped up a second-round submission win over Vicente Luque in the main card opener, winning the first round while jawing at the Brazilian throughout before diving on the fight-ended finish early in the middle stanza. It’s his second win in three starts this year, and he said he’s sticking around at welterweight going forward, which adds even more intrigue to the already captivating weight class.

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Joshua Van is now 7-1 in the UFC and riding a four-fight winning streak after blowing through Bruno Silva at UFC 316. The 23-year-old from Myanmar shows improvements every time out, has fantastic boxing, and has logged his seven wins in a touch under two years on the roster. A long future in the championship mix feels all but guaranteed.

Azamat Murzakanov returned to action with a first-round stoppage win over Brendson Ribeiro in his adopted home state of New Jersey. “The Professional” is 15-0 overall and likely to climb a little higher in the light heavyweight rankings following this weekend’s win, which should also produce a more high profile pairing next time, which is something he lobbied for following the impressive finish of his Brazilian foe.

Andreas Gustafsson established himself as a fun addition to the welterweight ranks with an unrelenting unanimous decision win over Khaos Williams. The self-proclaimed “least technical fighter on the roster” overwhelmed Williams from the outset, using his Greco-Roman wrestling acumen and all-around ruggedness to garner a lopsided win in his promotional debut.

JooSang Yoo produced one of the best debut wins of the year on the early prelims, hitting Jeka Saragih with a short left hook that instantly shut off his lights and sent him crashing down the canvas, face first. “Zombie Jr.” is undefeated, and if he keeps bringing this kind of smoke to the proceedings, he will be a fan favorite in no time. 

One Last Thing

O’Malley’s loss leaves him in an unenviable position that a few others have inhabited in the past, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how “Suga” moves forward.

While it’s going to be difficult to garner another championship opportunity as long as Dvalishvili remains on the throne, the 30-year-old from Arizona is a big enough star and skilled enough fighter to keep himself on the edges of the title conversation going forward. Following the blueprint laid out by Joseph Benavidez when he was in the same position at flyweight several years ago would make a lot of sense, even if it does potentially knock a couple ascending names out of the championship chase along the way.

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Tyson Chartier said in our Coach Conversation for this fight that he was curious to see how O’Malley would respond to a second consecutive setback, and now he has the opportunity to find out. If the way the former champion stuck around to thank the crowd at Prudential Center following the loss is any indication, I think he’s going to be just fine.

And with that, I’m out.

See you again after UFC 317.