UFC on ESPN 64 video: Manuel Torres hammerfists Drew Dober for quick TKO
Manuel Torres delivered another thrilling performance in his young octagon career Saturday when he quickly dispatched of veteran Drew Dober in the UFC on ESPN 64 co-main event.
Torres (16-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) promised excitement in the lightweight matchup at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, and he lived up to that when he hurt Dober (27-15 MMA, 13-11 UFC) with a huge straight right for a knockdown followed by a series of hammerfists for the TKO at the 1:45 mark of Round 1.
Dober protested the stoppage in the immediate aftermath, but didn't appear fully aware what had unfolded.
Check out the replay of the stoppage below (via X):
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 64 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC on ESPN 64.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 prediction, pick: Who wins UFC 316 title rematch?
Dan Tom MMA Junkie MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at the UFC 316 main event between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Sean O'Malley. Merab Dvalishvili UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record : 19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC : 19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC Height : 5'6" – Age : 34 – Weight : 135 lbs. – Reach : 68" : 5'6" – : 34 – : 135 lbs. – : 68" Last fight : Decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov (Jan. 18, 2025) : Decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov (Jan. 18, 2025) Camp : Syndicate MMA/Serra-Longo (Las Vegas) : Syndicate MMA/Serra-Longo (Las Vegas) Stance/striking style : Orthodox/kickboxing : Orthodox/kickboxing Risk management: Good Supplemental info: + UFC bantamweight champion + Multiple sambo championships + Judo black belt + Amateur MMA accolades + 3 KO victories + 1 submission win + 1 first-round finish + Relentless pace and pressure + Steadily improved striking technique ^ Variates looks and levels + Strong inside the clinch ^ Works well from bodylock + Solid offensive wrestling ^ Chains attacks and scrambles well + Aggressive ground striker ^ Operates well in transition +/- 0-0 in career rematches Sean O'Malley UFC 316 preview Staple info: Record : 18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC : 18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC Height : 5'11" – Age : 30 – Weight : 135 lbs. – Reach : 72" : 5'11" – : 30 – : 135 lbs. – : 72" Last fight : Decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili (Sept. 14, 2024) : Decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili (Sept. 14, 2024) Camp : MMA Lab (Arizona) : MMA Lab (Arizona) Stance/striking style : Switch-stance/kickboxing : Switch-stance/kickboxing Risk management: Good Supplemental info: + Former UFC bantamweight champion + Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt + Amateur MMA titles + Amateur boxing and kickboxing experience + 12 KO victories + 1 submission win + 9 first-round finishes + KO power + Creative striking flow and feints ^ Variates looks and levels + Accurate shot selection ^ Coming forward and off the counter + Dynamic kicking arsenal + Shows improved offensive wrestling + Serviceable scrambling and grappling + Active and attacking guard +/- 1-0 in career rematches Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 point of interest: Striking the second time around The main event for UFC 316 features a rematch for the bantamweight title between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley. Although I've been fairly vocal about being exhausted by the number of rematches the UFC matchmakers continue to throw our way, it's important to note that Dvalishvili and O'Malley's first fight at UFC 306 was deceptively closer than most people give it credit for. Aside from the one-round differential on most scorecards, O'Malley, who looks like the second coming of Ziggy Sobotka from "The Wire," was able to find some real success in Rounds 3 and 5 when working behind his jab and going to the body on Dvalishvili (something I outlined as a potential pathway to victory for O'Malley in my initial breakdown of this fight). If a dummy like me can spot that opening pre-flop, then I suspect that O'Malley and his team can do the same. O'Malley also cited a hip issue he was dealing with in their first fight, so I'd leave some room to be surprised as far as a more mobile "Sugar Show" goes this Saturday. Not only does more movement supplement O'Malley's style and setups on the feet, but it could also force Dvalishvili to follow and close in unfavorable ways. Despite arguably doing his best work when coming forward, Dvalishvili is not exactly impervious from a defensive standpoint. Moreover, Dvalishvili has also shown to be okay with sitting back and staging his offense off his back foot, which could be problematic if O'Malley uses these opportunities to steal the initiative of the fight. In Dvalishvili's defense, he has gotten a lot more diligent about having some sort of feinting presence, so I'll be curious to see if he forces the action and seizes more initiative himself, considering that he's already a lot of O'Malley's speed and power. Knees were also sneaky weapons for each fighter in tight spaces, but O'Malley may need to be more careful considering the closed-quarter combat that kind of shot selection can invite. Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2 point of interest: Winning the wrestling Between the way the first fight went and the crux of the champion's game, winning the wrestling will be paramount for both parties this weekend. A flexible takedown artist, Dvalishvili has proven to have many tools at his disposal. Although Dvalishvili traditionally favors single-leg snatches (like a lot of sambo-based practitioners we've seen in the octagon), the Syndicate MMA standout has incorporated a lot more double-legs since training stateside. From hitting shots in the open to completing doubles against the fence, Dvalishvili can be a difficult customer to dissuade. And when the champ does get his man down, he's not shy about immediately looking to land strikes in transition. 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Yahoo
2 hours ago
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UFC 316 video: Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison have no issues on scale
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UFC title contender Sean O'Malley quit weed, social media and hair dye. Can it make him a champion?
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That's all that matters.' O'Malley and his wife recently welcomed their second child, a boy named Matteo, another defining moment where the fighter realized he had become almost addicted to his 'Suga" persona. His life is now 'slowed down' without the constant need to check his phone or the paranoia he said he felt from regular marijuana use. 'I'd catch myself driving, surfing Instagram, and it was like, what the (heck) am I doing?' he said. 'I'd be playing with my daughter, surfing X, and it's like, what am I doing here? I feel like just limiting those distractions definitely made me more present with the family. With training. With friends. In general.' He also found some solace in that fact that he's pretty good in UFC at rematches. O'Malley has two losses since his 2017 debut; to Marlon Vera in 2020 and he rebounded to beat him in March 2024 in 135-pound title fight, and to Dvalishvili. O'Malley fought Dvalishvili the first time with a torn labrum in his hip and needed surgery after the fight. 'He didn't get the best version of me,' O'Malley said. As for the clean hairstyle for this fight, well, that's more about convenience than purposely tamping down the 'Suga' character. 'I just didn't want to sit down for it,' he said. 'I love the pink hair. It's fun. But it's a process. I thought bringing back the OG hair would be pretty cool.' And if he wins, let the party begin? 'I've got to jet home at 3 a.m.,' he said. 'There's no after party this time. I'm going straight home.' Kayla Harrison says she keeps her Olympic gold medals in a sock draw. That's a bit too small of a holding spot for the UFC championship belt. Harrison will take it around her waist if she can knock off 135-pound champion Julianna Peña in the other signature bout of UFC 316. No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain's Gemma Gibbons to win the women's 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018. The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — 18-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot. 'There's going to be a new face of women's MMA very soon,' Harrison said. Peña, who won the championship when she upset Raquel Pennington last October, enters the fight as the betting underdog and has two losses in her last five fights. She dismissed the critics and the oddsmakers — UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov once took a shot at Peña after she stunned Amanda Nunes — who gave her little chance to keep the championship and insisted she was ready to defeat another potential anchor of the women's division. 'I moved on the next greatest thing since sliced bread and it was Kayla,' she said. Joe Pyfer is thrilled he's fighting closer to his South Jersey home — and only about two hours from where he was raised in suburban Philadelphia — than even thinking about taking another fight in Mexico. The UFC middleweight was scheduled to fight in March in Mexico City against Kelvin Gastelum until Pyfer was hit with a violent illness that he blamed on food and was forced to drop out. The fight was rescheduled for Saturday night. 'It's just 14 out of the 15 meals I cooked, I didn't cook on the last day and I got super sick and I was sick for weeks,' Pfyfer said. 'So yeah, I got a lot of hate because you know I'm sitting there borderline crying upset and gutted that I didn't get to perform. I make the weight I felt great and then all of a sudden I get hit with this vicious (illness) throw up like, it's just like the sweats. I lost 14 pounds in seven hours and I slept one hour.' Pyfer grew up in a house he described as mentally and physically abusive until he was essentially rescued by one of his Penncrest High School teachers and a wrestling coach, Will Harmon. It was Harmon who encouraged Pyfer to join the wrestling team and showed his student kindness and a path toward a professional career that sparked interest in UFC. Harmon has been a staple at Pyfer's fights and Pyfer still returns to the school for pep rallies or other activities to 'get the kids hyped up.' 'He's always going to be somebody very special in my life,' Pyfer said. 'He's the guy that gave me the opportunity to pursue this career and be where I am now. 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