Merab Dvalishvili retains his 135-pound championship at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Merab Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O'Malley in the third round in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night at the Prudential Center.
Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O'Malley. Dvalishvili had his number in the rematch in front of a packed crowd that included President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson.
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Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory.
'I'm on top of the world!,' he said inside the cage.
He was the only 135-pound champion on the card who won his bout.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison is now a UFC champion.
Harrison tapped out 135-pound champion Julianna Peña with five seconds left in the second round to add another major championship in her fight career.
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.
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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 — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot.
She needed just three fights to become a champion.
Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration. She then called out Amanda Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner.
It appears a title fight with Harrison looms in UFC.
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Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked and the two went face-to-face. Nunes said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt.
The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown.
They had roared in delight hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.'
Harrison left the cage after the win and hugged Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage.
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It wasn't the only nod to Trump's latest appearance at a UFC fight.
UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview.
Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision.
'We've got the President of the United States! We've got Mike Tyson,' Pyfer bellowed inside the cage.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
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