Latest news with #UFC306
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili reveals his next possible opponent after facing former champ Sean O'Malley at UFC 316
As the day of UFC 316 is nearing, it is not just the fighters who are gearing up for their respective bouts, but also the fans who will be witnessing two title fights in the main card. While the hype surrounding the event is already high, ahead of the headline event between Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley, the Georgian fighter has recently named some of the greatest fighters with good cardio, both past and present. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In the same interview, the fighter also reveals the next opponent he would like to face after UFC 316. Merab Dvalishvili lists out fighters with good cardio, claims George St-Pierre as his favorite fighter Merab Dvalishvili won the bantamweight belt at UFC 306 after defeating Sean O'Malley via a unanimous decision. It was Sean's second title defense after winning it against Aljamain Sterling and defending it once against Marlon Vera. Even though UFC 316 would be Suga's first appearance since losing the belt to Merab in September 2024, The Machine has defended his belt once against Umar Nurmagomedov. Merab and Sean are facing each other for the second time, and this has increased the hype of the headlining event. During a recent interview, the Georgian fighter revealed his plans within the Octagon after UFC 316, as well as ranked some of his favorite fighters who have good cardio. While speaking to Helen Yee, a sports reporter, the fighter claimed Georges St-Pierre as his favorite fighter, 'GSP is one of my favorite fighters, he has good cardio. Khabib has good cardio. Ilia Topuria has good cardio. Petr Yan, too.' The statement came after Merab was made aware of the fact that MMA fans have ranked him number one in the said category. Merab Dvalishvili REVEALS CRAZY Sparring Before First Sean O'Malley Fight, Looking For A Wife.. While the list was just a part of the interview, the fighter also revealed his next plans within the Octagon and the opponent he was looking out for after UFC 316, 'I think right now, Sandhagen is ready. We never fought each other… Maybe, I'm not sure. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Whatever the UFC will decide. Whatever UFC thinks the fresh guy and the most deserving guy is, I will fight.' Also read: Cory Sandhagen is ranked 4th in the bantamweight division with a pro-MMA record of 18-5-0. The fighter has won four of his last five bouts and is known for his knockout wins. Merab believes that after retaining the title, the Georgian fighter might be defending the belt against Sandhagen since Petr Yan will now be facing Marcus McGhee at UFC Abu Dhabi.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Merab Dvalishvili gives toe injury update, says UFC 316 feels different than first Sean O'Malley fight
Merab Dvalishvili gives toe injury update, says UFC 316 feels different than first Sean O'Malley fight Show Caption Hide Caption Merab Dvalishvili Talks Sean O'Malley Title Bout Showdown at UFC 316 Merab Dvalishvili speaks with media members at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas ahead of his UFC 316 title fight against champion Sean O'Malley. LAS VEGAS – Everyone relax. Merab Dvalishvili is fine, according to the man himself. Thursday at Syndicate MMA, the UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) partook in an open workout before he fielded questions from reporters including MMA Junkie. It's no surprise the first one centered around his health, after he posted video of a toe injury just days ago. "No more black and blue. Still a little fat, but it's good," Dvalishvili laughed. "I'm working. It's a little pinky toe. It won't be any problem. ... That is how it was. But like my coach said, if it's something important, I'm not going to post it. That was not important. Like I said, I have nine other toes and I'm good. ... I was surprised how much reaction there was from people. It's like, guys, it's nothing really. It was nothing." The word "nothing" is relieving to hear for many, but perhaps none enjoy hearing it more than the UFC. Dvalishvili is currently nine days out from headlining UFC 316 on June 6 against former titleholder Sean O'Malley at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The bout is a rematch of their UFC 306 meeting in September. Dvalishvili dominated the first fight, but expects an even better O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) this time out. "Him and his coach studied our fight," Dvalishvili said. "They know what are my strongest ways, what are my weaknesses. They have a long camp and I'm waiting and I'm accepting the best version of Sean O'Malley. That's my job to take this fight serious. I should not look down on him because I'm ready to work. Hopefully, I'm going to make it much easier." Due to the one-sidedness and recency of their first meeting, the rematch booking had many fight fans scratching their heads. While the matchup seems the same at face value, Dvalishvili said he's getting different vibes. "It definitely feels different because the first time I was the challenger," Dvalishvili said. "Now, I'm a champion. This time, he's the challenger. I already beat him. In the beginning, it was hard to motivate myself to fight the same guy who I dominated. Now, I know he's going to change a lot of things. He's already changed his lifestyle and everything. We may see Sean defend my takedowns and we may see we go fight striking. I'm ready for that. It's going to be a good fight, for sure. "He's a great striker and I can not relax one second. We all know he can crack me, or maybe I can crack him. If you guys don't believe me, make sure to buy the pay-per-view. It's going to be a great fight. I feel good. It's almost time now. I feel good. On Saturday, I'm going to start the weight cut. Now, I'm still good. I'm still eating everything."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chael Sonnen isn't sure Merab Dvalishvili really beat Sean O'Malley in first fight
Chael Sonnen has a controversial take on the first fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 this past September. O'Malley was taken down six times and controlled for more than 10 minutes in a unanimous decision loss. Sonnen thinks the judges may have gotten it wrong. "O'Malley vs. Merab, I'm not sure that Merab won that night," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "I mean, that wasn't really met with a lot of controversy. That was pretty widely accepted, and we all got up and went home. That surprised me. If you go back and you watch that fourth and fifth round, you might come to a different opinion than you did the first time. I mean, that fight might have been 3-2 O'Malley." O'Malley argued that he should have gotten his hand raised, an opinion which was met with plenty of criticism. "He wasn't crazy," Sonnen said of O'Malley. "If you went back and watched it, the announcers were very influencing from the very beginning on that – and they are in most fights, that's the way it goes. From my perspective, because I didn't have the announcer, I was there live, so I didn't get to hear any of that. I just watched the fight. And when it was done, I'm like, 'Oh, close fight, but O'Malley won,' and it just wasn't the case." O'Malley will get an opportunity to avenge that loss when he rematches Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) on June 7 in the UFC 316 main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst disputes Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley result
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Chael Sonnen isn't sure Merab Dvalishvili really beat Sean O'Malley in first fight
Chael Sonnen isn't sure Merab Dvalishvili really beat Sean O'Malley in first fight Chael Sonnen has a controversial take on the first fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 this past September. O'Malley was taken down six times and controlled for more than 10 minutes in a unanimous decision loss. Sonnen thinks the judges may have gotten it wrong. "O'Malley vs. Merab, I'm not sure that Merab won that night," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "I mean, that wasn't really met with a lot of controversy. That was pretty widely accepted, and we all got up and went home. That surprised me. If you go back and you watch that fourth and fifth round, you might come to a different opinion than you did the first time. I mean, that fight might have been 3-2 O'Malley." O'Malley argued that he should have gotten his hand raised, an opinion which was met with plenty of criticism. "He wasn't crazy," Sonnen said of O'Malley. "If you went back and watched it, the announcers were very influencing from the very beginning on that – and they are in most fights, that's the way it goes. From my perspective, because I didn't have the announcer, I was there live, so I didn't get to hear any of that. I just watched the fight. And when it was done, I'm like, 'Oh, close fight, but O'Malley won,' and it just wasn't the case." O'Malley will get an opportunity to avenge that loss when he rematches Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) on June 7 in the UFC 316 main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Sean O'Malley confident in grappling prep for Merab Dvalishvili rematch at UFC 316
Sean O'Malley confident in grappling prep for Merab Dvalishvili rematch at UFC 316 Sean O'Malley vows he's much better prepared in his second training camp for UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will look to avenge his bantamweight title loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 when the pair rematch in the June 7 main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. O'Malley entered their first fight with a hip injury that later required surgery. Now that O'Malley was healthy enough to go through an entire training camp to fine tune his grappling, he sees himself stopping Dvalishvili's (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) offense. "Every training camp you go through, you get a little bit better," O'Malley said on "The Jim Rome Show." "This training camp has been a long training camp. It's been just a lot of grappling. That's all we've been doing. When you're doing that five, six days a week, you're going to improve. "We've been in camp for a long time now. I think we did about 12, 13 weeks of focusing on Merab, focusing on getting better in that area. It's been a long camp, and I've definitely improved. I've got to break 'The Machine.' I've got to beat him. I've got to win the positions. I know I can beat Merab." O'Malley dismissed the notion that he needs an early finish to win. "He's open to getting knocked out," O'Malley said. "I'm very confident that I can put his lights out, I'm also confident I can beat him in a five-round fight. There's definitely a possibility of me putting his lights out, but I'm ready to go for 25 minutes. I'm ready to have to dig deep."
