The 135-pound division officially has a new champion.
Amid the awe of the first-ever live sports event held at the Sphere on Saturday, Merab Dvalishvili dethroned title-holder Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to cap off UFC 306 and claim his spot atop the bantamweight division.
The main event victory not only earned “The Machine” his first UFC belt, but also extended his win streak to 11 consecutive fights.
Dvalishvili entered the bout as the No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division after taking down 135-pound veterans José Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo in his last three contests, all by unanimous decision.
The new champion now holds a 17-4 record in MMA and 11-2 record in the UFC.
Meanwhile, O’Malley’s reign as champion comes to an end after one successful defence. “Suga” originally earned the belt with a TKO victory over Aljimain Sterling in the UFC 292 headline and then retained it with a decision win against Marlon Vera at UFC 299. The loss also snapped a three-fight win streak for the former champ.
More to come.
