Ten wins on the spin, #1 UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili gets his title shot next month against Sean O’Malley and while the highly-regarded Georgian will fancy his chances against a flashy striker, the champion’s head coach Tim Welch feels one glaring hole could prove costly in their PPV headliner.
Welch: Dvalishvili’s shaky striking tendencies may cost him
Sean O’Malley (c) vs. Merab Dvalishvili [1]
UFC bantamweight championship fight
Main event at UFC 306, from Las Vegas’ newly-built Sphere
MERAB Dvalishvili has waited a while and in little over two weeks’ time, he’ll get his chance to capture UFC championship gold seven years after his promotional debut.
Some have suggested it could be an efficient night’s work if he’s allowed an opportunity to dominate behind his overwhelming wrestling capabilities, though Sean O’Malley’s takedown defence was stress-tested against Petr Yan two years ago (7 of 13 takedowns stuffed) and he emerged stronger for the experience.
On a night where two undisputed championship titles will be defended for the first time since April – dating back to UFC 300 – critics hope that one way or another, O’Malley’s growing star power within the promotion will be rewarded with a more exciting product than his first defence against longtime rival Marlon Vera.
This card takes place on the same night as a big boxing bout elsewhere Stateside as former undisputed super-middleweight world champion Canelo Álvarez makes his latest title defence vs. unbeaten contender Edgar Berlanga. The same way Canelo is heavily favoured, Tim Welch also believes his charge has a clear path to victory.
On his YouTube channel, Welch said: “Loses balance a little bit on the punches, falls forward, and that’s something that definitely could get him in trouble here, it’s too close to the fight now to fix. Really lunging in here, throwing the overhand right, bringing his back foot with him, you saw it with Aljo [Sterling].”
He praised Dvalishvili’s gas tank and subsequent intensity, though also said he was thankful he didn’t have to train someone against O’Malley as sparring partners cannot mimic his twitchy movement and unpredictability across all areas.
Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, echoed the same sentiments about his fighter – one who hasn’t been beaten since April 2018 – in a notoriously difficult division where most of the top-ranked contenders can beat one another on any given night.
Having reeled off consecutive unanimous decision wins over recently-inducted Hall of Famer Jose Aldo (Aug. 2022), former champ Petr Yan (Mar. 2023) and most recently Henry Cejudo (Feb. 2024), the 33-year-old has benefited immensely from the presence of former champion and training partner Aljamain Sterling in his team.
Not only did he gain invaluable experience during Aljo’s run from championship contender to champion, but would’ve learned plenty of subtle wrinkles that he has since adapted into his own arsenal while understanding how to embrace pressure.
O’Malley scored a second-round stoppage win over Sterling to claim 135lb gold this time last year and Welch’s analysis feels fitting, given it’s a striker vs. wrestler battle in another meeting between the two teams – albeit with different stakes involved.
“Merab doesn’t even control his breath, he’ll just breathe in, be mouth-breathing the whole time and be able to keep up the pace. That’s one scary thing about him, just keep up the pace the whole time at that, frantic breathing and pace… that’s one of the things that makes him really dangerous.”
UFC 306 card, as it stands
Main card
Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley (c) vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Women’s Flyweight: Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3
Featherweight: Brian Ortega [3] vs. Diego Lopes [12]
Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics
Flyweight: Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode’ Osbourne
Prelim, early prelims
Women’s Bantamweight: Irene Aldana [5] vs. Norma Dumont [9]
Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Manuel Torres
Women’s Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza
Flyweight: Edgar Chairez vs. Kevin Borjas
Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr vs. Aori Qileng
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
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