UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili beats Sean O'Malley with north-south choke in Round 3

Merab Dvalishvili delivered a relentless performance at UFC 316, submitting Sean O’Malley with a north-south choke at 4:42 of the third round to retain his bantamweight title on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It marked Dvalishvili's first win by choke — and only his second submission finish.

Dvalishvili's submission victory marked his first finish since defeating Marlon Moraes in 2021, as he maintains his dominant position in the 135-pound weight class. With this win, Dvalishvili earned a bonus payment of $50,000 and continued his impressive run by securing his 13th consecutive victory.

President Donald Trump witnessed Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA) showcase his dominant wrestling skills from the cageside. He exhausted the former champion and solidified his position amongst the elite bantamweights in the sport's history.


Following his victory at 4:42 of the third round, marking his thirteenth straight win, Dvalishvili expressed interest in defending his title against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA), who has emerged victorious in four of his previous five bouts.

"You're the man, let's go," Dvalishvili said, pointing that he would be interested in fighting Sandhagen next.

Kayla Harrison, the newly-crowned champion in the 135-pound division, received $50,000 for securing a submission victory in her title fight. The Olympic champion, with two gold medals to her name, systematically dominated Julianna Pena with superior grappling skills before securing a kimura submission at 4:55 of Round 2 in the UFC 316 co-main event.

Kevin Holland delivered an impressive performance in the UFC 316 main card opener, finishing Vicente Luque with a D'Arce choke at 1:03 of the second round.

Holland (28-13 MMA) has demonstrated his competitive edge by winning three out of his recent five bouts, coming out as a significant welterweight contender. Luque (23-11-1 MMA), who lives in New Jersey while hailing from Brazil, has experienced a challenging stretch with defeats in two of his previous three encounters.