Mixed Martial Arts-Dvalishvili, Harrison win bantamweight belts at UFC 316

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By Philip O’Connor

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) -Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at UFC 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown.

With President Donald Trump sitting cage-side at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Dvalishvili set about defending the title he won from O’Malley in September by putting his opponent under tremendous early pressure, stalking him around the cage and mixing up his striking with takedown attempts. 

O’Malley defended well against his opponent’s aggressive offensive wrestling but was eventually taken down in both rounds, and Dvalishvili ended the fight by using his crushing top pressure to secure a choke at the 4:42 mark of the second round. 

“I’m on top of the world. I’m a world champion. I come from nothing. I’m so grateful to inspire so many young generations to show my example,” the 34-year-old Dvalishvili said in a post-fight interview. 

Asked about his incredible stamina and pressure, he said he was nothing special and that it all came down to training.

“It’s just work – every day, repeat, training. You know, number one for me is just wake up, training and after I can hang out, enjoy with my friends, go to church, looking for wife or whatever you want to do,” he explained. 

In the co-main event, two-time Olympic judo champion Harrison used her superb grappling to dominate Pena, locking in a kimura submission with five seconds to go in the second round. 

In her victory speech, Harrison called out retired Brazilian former two-weight champ Amanda Nunes, summoning her into the cage where the two agreed that they would face off in a future fight. Nunes has not fought since beating Irene Aldana in June 2023. 

(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by William Mallard)