Merab Dvalishvili: 'I will break Sean O'Malley'

Top bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili challenges champion Sean O’Malley for the 135-pound title in the UFC 306 main event on Saturday.

O’Malley is a precision striker with 12 of his 18 wins coming by knockout.  Dvalishvili is a pressure fighter with seemingly endless conditioning.  O’Malley predicts that he’ll stop Dvalishvili early but “The Machine” is not concerned about O’Malley’s striking.  

“O’Malley’s for sure a good striker,” Dvalishvili told Kevin Iole.  “He’s smart.  His footwork is good, but I don’t think it’s going to affect me with his style.  I think I will break him.  I will catch him and I will break him.”

“I’m the No. 1 contender.  I’m fighting for the belt and I’m good everywhere and even striking when I need to strike,” Dvalishvili said.  “I beat Jose Aldo.  I wasn’t able to take him down and I beat him.  That means I can strike too.” 

O’Malley captured the 135-pound title by defeating Dvalishvili’s teammate, Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023. He successfully defended the belt at UFC 299 in March, avenging a previous loss to Marlon Vera in one-sided fashion. 

Dvalishvili is riding a 10-fight winning streak and has been the top contender in the division for some time but would not fight his training partner, Sterling. “The Machine” hasn’t lost a fight since April 2018.