Merab Dvalishvili became the second ever Georgian UFC Champion this weekend with a nearly flawless performance against defending Bantamweight Champion, Sean O’Malley. While some (including Herb Dean), voiced their disappointment with the lack of activity in the Main Event of UFC 306, the fight went exactly according to plan for Dvalishvili, who was at “his stubborn, suffocating best,” on Saturday night, as Jon Anik so aptly put it. Merab even threw in some of his now signature high jinx, kissing Sean O’Malley on the back as he threatened an arm-in guillotine at the end of the second round.
The wackiness wasn’t confined to kissing, however. Ten seconds after the opening bell, Merab looked at Herb Dean and pointed past the camera toward “Suga” Sean’s cornerman, Tim Welch. Moments later, Herb Dean jumped in and stopped fight due to the incessant jawing between Merab and Welch, instructing Merab to focus on the fight and not the opposing cornerman. Apparently this stoppage in action didn’t resonate with O’Malley’s cornerman, who was presented with a warning at the 3:49 mark of the first round to “coach your fighter” and later reminded about the “excessive coaching” rule after the first round. The broadcast team was left pondering what might constitute excessive coaching with speculation about coaching the opposing fighter and a story about the match between Glover Teixeira and Anthony Smith. Herb Dean, who provided the warning to O’Malley’s corner, may have been drawing on NRUC 4.070 (4), which states “a second may not coach loudly or in an excessive manner from the corners during a period of unarmed combat.” If so, ambiguity in interpretation still exists, and it is unclear if coaching one’s opposition would even present a violation to the rule. Perhaps the Nevada State Athletic Commission can clear the air on this interesting, albeit rare, issue.
While the bickering between Merab and Welch was confined to the first round, Merab’s excellent performance in the first five minutes carried into the later rounds. At the beginning of the second round, the broadcast team brought in Din Thomas who provided the perfect analogy, “He [Sean O’Malley] is a sharpshooter. We know this, but it’s very difficult to pinpoint a butterfly in a wind storm… If Merab can keep this up, man, O’Malley might be in for a long night.” A long night it was. Merab’s cardio proved unshakable as he threw 310 total strikes and shot for 15 takedowns throughout the 25 minute matchup.
O’Malley, known for his slick counter striking, had trouble finding the mark on Saturday night. “The Machine” was able to bounce out of range when Sean tried to put together combinations and shoot for takedowns when Sean attempted to anticipate the backward movement. Nonetheless, Sean had his moments and won rounds three and five on the judges’ scorecards.
In Round 3, O’Malley made adjustments to his game plan and began to rattle off punches to the body. In the last 45 seconds of the round, O’Malley put together a couple of nice combinations and partially landed a knee, which may have tipped the scales for the two judges that gave him the round. All three judges gave O’Malley the fifth round, which involved quite a bit of circling on the outside by Dvalishvili, who seemingly knew that he was up on the scorecards. O’Malley’s performance in the fifth round was better in part due to increased kick volume, an aspect of O’Malley’s game noticeably absent in the earlier rounds. A front kick to the body around the 1:30 mark caused Merab to wince and gave O’Malley fans hope as the closing bell approached. Ultimately, however, Merab prevailed and capitalized an impressive performance with one last takedown.
Umar Nurmagomedov was in attendance alongside his manager Ali Abdelaziz and is expected to fight for the Bantamweight Belt next. With a rare combination of striking prowess and a ground game to match, Umar would be a much different challenge for Merab.
What did you make of the main event of Noche UFC, and what do you think is next for the UFC Bantamweight Division?
