Merab Dvalishvili vows to enflict more “damage” to Sean O’Malley in rematch at UFC 316

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili plans to make a statement at UFC 316.

Dvalishvili is set to rematch Sean O’Malley on Saturday night in an intriguing fight. Dvalishvili won a clear-cut decision to defeat O’Malley and become the bantamweight champ last September.

Heading into the rematch on Saturday, Dvalishvili is a big favorite, and he’s planning to make the win more clear this time as he expects to finish O’Malley.

“This time I’ll be more focused on the finish and more focused on damage,” Dvalishvili said at media day. “The first fight it was too easy, and I was too relaxed. I saw everything and controlled everything. I did kiss him and I did make fun of him. But this time I’m going to focus more on finishing, which is what I worked on. So yeah, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Dvalishvili did some antics in the first fight against O’Malley, as he kissed ‘Suga’s’ back and was trying to goof around. However, he says this time around, he’s focused on fighting and proving how much better he is than O’Malley.

Merab Dvalishvili is expecting the best Sean O’Malley at UFC 316

Heading into UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili is a big betting favorite as oddsmakers expect him to cruise to a win over Sean O’Malley.

However, Dvalishvili thinks the fight could be a tough one as he believes this will be the best O’Malley ever on Saturday night.

“I’m ready for a hard fight. I’m expecting the best Sean O’Malley in the best shape ever,” Dvalishvili said. “Like I said before, I’m looking for a finish. But if I have to beat the sh*t out of him for five rounds, I’m ready to do that, too.”

O’Malley lost the first fight to Dvalishvili, and if he loses the rematch, he likely won’t get a title shot in a long time. Because of that, Dvalishvili believes ‘Suga’ will be the best version of himself at UFC 316.