Colorful champion Sean O’Malley takes on streaking top contender Merab Dvalishvili in a highly anticipated battle for the UFC bantamweight title in Saturday’s UFC 306 finale.
After claiming the title last August with a second-round stoppage win over Aljamain Sterling, O’Malley avenged the lone loss of his career in his first successful title defense, picking apart Marlon “Chito” Vera over five rounds to advance to 18-1 with one no contest for his career. The 29-year-old is one of the most talented strikers in the UFC today, combining incredible quickness and fundamentals with a keen sense of timing, exceptional footwork, and uncanny finishing abilities.
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It’s crazy to think that Dvalishvili began his UFC tenure with consecutive losses, followed by competitive bouts with the likes of Terrion Ware and Brad Katona, as over the last three years, he’s run his winning streak to 10 by turning in dominant showings against Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. “The Machine” is an absolute menace in the grappling and conditioning departments, using each to exhaust and break opponents while showing continual improvements in the striking realm each time out.
These two have been circling each other since O’Malley was set to face Sterling, who remains one of Dvalishvili’s closest friends and training partners. While there are personal tensions and a budding rivalry between them, this is also an intoxicating stylistic clash where one can conceive a clear path to victory for each man while also envisioning a scenario where this turns into a breathtaking battle of wills.
No matter how this shakes out, Saturday’s main event is going to be a benchmark moment in the division, and set the tone for how things will shape up in the ultra-competitive 135-pound ranks going forward.
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