Georgian MMA fighter Merab Dvalishvili secures unanimous decision victory over Sean O'Malley
Merab Dvalishvili
Sean O’Malley
Merab Dvalishvili, Georgian professional mixed martial fighter, on Sunday won a unanimous decision over Sean O’Malley, an American professional mixed martial fighter.
Dvalishvili and O’Malley both compete in the Bantamweight division in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili (18-4). He used a ground-and-pound attack to control most of the action against O’Malley (18-2).
The Georgian fighter’s competitor became UFC Bantamweight Champion in 2023.
For his first title defence, O'Malley faced Marlon Vera in a rematch on March 9, 2024, where he defended his title via unanimous decision. This earned him his sixth Performance of the Night bonus award.
O'Malley attempted to defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili on September 14, 2024 and he lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Before the fight against O'Malley, Dvalishvili defeated former UFC Featherweight champion José Aldo via unanimous decision at UFC 278 on August 20, 2022. On March 11, 2023, he faced former Bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili, winning by unanimous decision and setting a UFC record with 49 takedown attempts. Dvalishvili continued his streak by defeating former Flyweight and Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298, also via unanimous decision after landing five takedowns.
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