Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O'Malley even more emphatically in their rematch than he did nine months ago.
Dvalishvili submitted O'Malley with a north-south choke to retain the UFC bantamweight championship in the UFC 316 main event Saturday night at Prudential Center in Newark.
The finish came at the 4:42 mark of the third round. It marked Dvalishvili's second career win by submission.
"I'm getting better and better," Dvalishvili said in his postfight interview. "I have more tools in my pocket I'm still working on. Little by little, I will show."
Dvalishvili is now 2-0 against O'Malley after he earned a unanimous decision victory over him at UFC 306 last September to capture the title.
O'Malley maintained distance in the opening minutes of the rematch, landing punches to Dvalishvili's body. But Dvalishvili's wrestling, pressure, and pace quickly became too much for the challenger to handle. Dvalishvili took O'Malley down three minutes into the first round and then again a minute later. Dvalishvili landed a few shots on the ground while on top.
The second round played out entirely on the feet, with Dvalishvili and O'Malley exchanging punches. Dvalishvili landed a nice combination early in the frame and clipped O'Malley with a left hand. O'Malley stuffed all four of Dvalishvili's takedown attempts.
Dvalishvili opened the third round with a high-amplitude takedown and finally established full control on the ground. Dvalishvili smothered O'Malley for several minutes, landing punches to the head and knees to the body. With less than a minute left in the round, Dvalishvili jumped on O'Malley's neck and eventually locked in the submission, forcing the tap.
"(O'Malley) was well prepared, and I knew that - I knew he was gonna make changes," Dvalishvili said.
Dvalishvili retained the title for the second time. He pulled off an upset against Umar Nurmagomedov in his first defense at UFC 311 in January, earning a unanimous decision win.
Dvalishvili has won 13 straight fights, tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in UFC history. The 34-year-old Georgian hasn't lost since his second UFC bout in 2018.
Dvalishvili said he "would love to" defend the title against No. 4-ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen next.
"You are the man," Dvalishvili said of Sandhagen, who was in attendance at UFC 316. "Let's go. I like it. ... He's the most deserving guy."
O'Malley returned to the Octagon for the first time since he dropped the belt to Dvalishvili. The 30-year-old has lost two in a row for the first time in his professional career.
