Dana White not surprised by Merab Dvalishvili kissing Sean O'Malley

Dana White has reacted to the strange moment involving a kiss between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.

The night at the Las Vegas Sphere was filled with memorable moments. Fight of the year contenders, one of the worst cuts in the history of the sport, and surprisingly enough, a kiss in the headlining bout.

With round two coming to a close, Merab Dvalishvili was in the driving seat. He neutralized Sean O’Malley with his impressive wrestling, but angered the former champion by kissing his back several times during a grappling exchange.

There were a number of unusual moments in the fight, catching the attention of Dana White.

“Merab and O’Malley’s corner were screaming at each other the whole beginning of the fight,” White told the media in the aftermath to UFC 306. “They were yelling at each other back and forth.”

“Then, Herb Dean stepped in and told them to knock it off.”

White later discussed Merab Dvalishvili’s kiss on Sean O’Malley.

“Then the kissing on the back and standing up and walking away before bell, that I have no idea.”

“Merab does some sh*t, you know what I mean? It was weird but not shocking.”

Following his victory, Merab Dvalishvili later detailed exactly why he kissed Sean O’Malley during the second round.

“Yeah, so I grabbed his next and he hears the 10 seconds left,” Dvalishvili said. “I know he can wait and he’s not going to go to sleep or tap.”

Related: Merab Dvalishvili and Valentina Shevchenko share special moment backstage after UFC 306 wins

“I just wanted to make a little fun of him. I don’t hate the guy, [I wanted to] just make fun of him, but at the same time, give [him] a little kiss to show that I’m dominating.”

“I controlled this fight, break you, you know? That’s why I was kissing. But, I had too much fun there and I guess I [lost control of time].”

Check out what Dvalishvili thought of his bizarre kiss below.

Merab Dvalishvili fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a UFC champion on Saturday night.

Dvalishvili will now look ahead to his first title defense, likely some time in 2025. With the bantamweight division stacked full of killers, one name stands out above the rest as the potential next title challenger — Umar Nurmagomedov.