Merab Dvalishvili has been calling out bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley ever since the Georgian’s first win inside the Octagon in September of 2018.
After defeating Terrion Ware in Moscow, Dvalishvili took to the mic to call out the current champion, who at the time was just two fights into his UFC career. Their paths have run parallel for the last few years, but there was always one thing standing in the way of Dvalishvili fighting for a title: his good friend and training partner Aljamain Sterling was the one holding the belt.
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Dvalishvili and O’Malley’s feud ignited at UFC 288, an event neither athlete competed in. After Sterling defended his title against Henry Cejudo, O’Malley joined him in the Octagon post-fight as the clear next challenger for “Funkmaster.” During their faceoff, Dvalishvili stole O’Malley’s “Thriller” themed jacket, climbed on top of the cage and began hyping up the crowd, drawing a reaction from O’Malley.
Since Sterling was still the champion at that time Dvalishvili and O’Malley’s rivalry had to be put on hold. It wasn’t until UFC 292 in August of last year, when O’Malley dethroned Sterling with a second-round TKO victory in Boston that Dvalishvili could start thinking of competing for a title.
O’Malley had a score to settle with an old foe in Marlon Vera, so instead of waiting, Dvalishvili decided to solidify himself as the number one contender by defeating former two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medalist Cejudo in dominant fashion.
So now, six years later, they will finally meet at UFC 306: O’Malley vs Dvalishvili in the first-ever sporting event at Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. While Sphere wasn’t in construction when he started his pro career, Dvalishvili has visualized this moment, competing for a UFC title, ever since he put on the four-ounce gloves.
“This is a dream come true,” Dvalishvili said. “This is what I was training hard for, and now I’m fighting for the title, but I got to make sure I put hard work in and I want to win this title fight, not just fight for the belt, but win and do great things with it.”
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Standing in his way is one of the best strikers the UFC has ever seen. In 12 UFC fights, O’Malley’s earned 10 victories, including six by KO, and he not only finished one of the greatest bantamweight champions of all time, but defended his belt with little resistance.
“Sean O’Malley is a great fighter,” Dvalishvili said. “I respect him as a fighter. He has knockout power, he’s a great champion, and he’s a good challenge for me. I can’t wait. I’ve wanted to fight him since 2018. I was calling him out. Somehow this fight didn’t happen before, but this is the perfect time. We are fighting now. Perfect date, for the belt, and I can’t wait.”
While he recognizes the challenge ahead of him, Dvalishvili questions O’Malley’s ability to hold onto his title, considering he wasn’t able to hold onto his jacket at UFC 288.
“I want to take his belt now,” Dvalishvili said. “I already took his jacket. I have a question for you. He can’t even defend his jacket, how’s he going to defend his belt?
“He give me jacket first, and then after he was crying. What kind of man he is. When you give somebody something, you should not cry and take back. Especially, he was crying in front of boss.”
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In the lead up to this fight, Dvalishvili traveled to Mexico to train his boxing. While Dvalishvili seemingly has a grappling advantage in this matchup, on paper, he wants to fight in a Mexican style on Saturday night, using constant forward pressure and boxing to break O’Malley until an eventual KO finish. After all, UFC 306, also known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC, is a tribute to, and celebration of, Mexico’s impact on combat sports.
“I love the country of Mexico, and I love Mexican people because they are hard workers,” Dvalishvili said. “They support each other, and I love it. They’re tough people, they’re warrior people, they support each other, and they are tight together. I feel like I am one of them. I’m a warrior, I like to support my friends, my people. We have a connection and I’m going to represent Mexico.
“I have a big heart. If he hits me hard, he’s going to wake me up; he’s going to wake up the animal in me and I’m going to go even more hard.”
This Saturday, Dvalishvili has the chance to become the second Georgian UFC champion, following featherweight champ Ilia Topuria, who made history as the first with his knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski in February. For a country that’s nearly 90 times smaller than the USA, having two champions crowned in just seven months would be a remarkable achievement.
“It will be crazy for my country,” Dvalishvili said. “It means a lot for a small country for a fighter to win UFC belt. Everybody knows that I’m just a hard worker. I’m not gifted. When I win this belt, it will show people that you can just work hard and, of course, give a good example to kids and hardworking people.
“One thing I know for sure is I’m going to do everything to win the belt, and I want to do so many great things with the belt.”
UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili took place live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
