Merab Dvalishvili outfoxed Sean O’Malley and seized UFC bantamweight gold to avenge defeat for his friend and former champion Aljamain Sterling, after Valentina Shevchenko smartly stifled the partisan crowd before reclaiming the flyweight throne with a dominant decision win over Alexa Grasso in their trilogy on a night where two titles changed hands to finish an epic Sphere spectacle.
Valentina shows versatility to reclaim gold
50-45, 50-45, 50-45: Valentina Shevchenko bt. Alexa Grasso (c) via UD5, becomes two-time UFC flyweight champion
- Embracing the moment! Shevchenko’s interview: “Just felt huge, like a dream come true fighting in the Sphere. I really appreciate [Grasso], this rivalry – win, draw, lose – it’s what people wanted to see from women’s MMA, a lot of respect and no trash talk, it’ll stay in history forever!”
- What’s next? #2 ranked contender Manon Fiorot likely after Frenchwoman’s five-round decision win over Erin Blanchfield on March 30
VALENTINA Shevchenko logged new career-highs in takedowns (8), control time (16:04) and was dominant despite needing to navigate a few dangerous Alexa Grasso submission manoevures in their trilogy showdown, reclaiming championship gold.
Shevchenko was sharp in their stand-up exchanges and purposeful with her wrestling against a champion who couldn’t match her intensity, besides a few defiant hail-mary moments from bottom position on a night where the future Hall of Famer did brilliantly to stifle the crowd before zapping Grasso’s energy and impetus too.
That trend began in minute one, Shevchenko landing a clean counter right hook early before flicking out the jab and securing a beautifully-timed takedown – meaning she’s done so in each of her last 12 fights – without much effort.
Within a minute from that top position, Grasso threatened a triangle submission to remind the former champ no matter where they went, threat lingered.
A fleeting guillotine choke from bottom position was quickly erased though, Shevchenko finishing on top and in command to take the opening stanza.
Before long, you didn’t need to keep score as they were again on the canvas early in round two with Daniel Cormier lamenting Grasso’s inability to resist takedowns nor try harder in returning to her feet again. This wasn’t where she needed to be.
An armbar attempt was shrugged off, Grasso then tried for a kimura and more submissions from her back in the final 90 seconds but Shevchenko’s ground control was helping bank rounds with reduced danger to boot.
Grasso’s corner accepted their charge needed the next three rounds but Shevchenko was quicker to strike and land when she pleased: flashing high kicks, throwing first and often, flicking a knee too before another takedown for good measure.
Into round four, Grasso clearly needed a stoppage and right on cue, she had a guillotine choke which looked tight for a little while before referee Mark Smith prompted Shevchenko to show him she wasn’t limp – little pit-pat body punches came in response, aware Grasso was likely draining her energy reserves this way, and an arm-triangle came from the challenger shortly afterwards too.
Grasso still had a few chances to produce a hail-mary choke and cause havoc as they went into the final stanza, though looked jaded. Shevchenko’s defensive urgency was decisive in ensuring there were to be no last-gasp turnarounds at her expense.
Merab gets his vindication, at long last
49-46, 48-47, 48-47: Merab Dvalishvili bt. Sean O’Malley (c), becomes UFC bantamweight champion and extends win streak to 11
- Merab’s first words as champ: “I feel like I’m in a dream! I was focused step-by-step, not thinking about the belt… just to beat O’Malley – I know he’s good but just made him look normal. Dana found me in looking for a fight, I’m living my dream, inspiring so many people in my country and others – was a construction worker – you have to respect everyone.”
- All about timing: #2 ranked unbeaten contender Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0, 28yo) watched cageside but Georgian sidestepped questions about a first title defence and basked in the moment after years of criticism surrounding his friendship with now-former champion Aljamain Sterling
Sean O’Malley’s rising stardom took a hit in perhaps the worst way, as Merab Dvalishvili overwhelmed him with a sense of inevitability many neutrals had feared would make this matchup as one-sided as it often proved when officially announced.
Despite being sternly warned by referee Herb Dean almost immediately into the fight for barking back-and-forth with O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch, the Georgian challenger wouldn’t let anything faze him on the biggest night of his career. Instead, he embraced the histrionics and played a pantomime villain role to perfection.
Bouncing plenty but being more measured with takedown entries in the early going, the 33-year-old’s first takedown came midway through a tentative opening stanza that could’ve gone either way. Little else did for the Suga Show on this evening.
A graphic flashed up on screen showing Merab was the third fighter in promotional history to reach 80 completed takedowns after Georges St-Pierre and Gleison Tibau and that rather foreshadowed a frustrating night’s work for the champion.
O’Malley fought out of these grappling positions upon occasion and even stuffed takedowns, nine of the 15 attempted, but it wasn’t enough to deter Dvalishvili. If you’ve seen him compete before, you know failure just fuels the fire brighter.
He finished the round strong with a guillotine choke, then O’Malley was given a hard warning for grabbing the inside of Dvalishvili’s glove in bottom position deep into an exhausting second frame. From that visual alone, things were looking ominous.
After landing just six strikes and being controlled for large periods of round two, the champion fared better in the third. This was punctuated by a bizarre sequence where Dvalishvili had him pinned against the fence and was demonstratively kissing his neck, letting go moments before the round ended with his back turned.
O’Malley quickly rose and suckerpunched him for it, but that action should’ve prompted something within him to step up the intensity and avoid being disrespected in this manner. Instead, he continued throwing one-punch counters – aware of the takedown threat – steadily landing more shots as Merab edged forward.
Right on cue, another takedown arrived and O’Malley’s face told the story. Increasingly worn out, his last-gasp efforts to turn the tide were spirited but came far too late despite hurting the Georgian with a front kick to the body and knee up the middle. Where was this urgency in the middle rounds? Only he can answer that.
Rest of the card’s results
Main card
Featherweight: Diego Lopes [12] bt. Brian Ortega [3] via UD3 (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Esteban Ribovics bt. Daniel Zellhuber via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Flyweight: Ronaldo Rodriguez bt. Ode’ Osbourne via UD3 (29-28, 29-27 x 2)
Prelim, early prelims
Women’s Bantamweight: Norma Dumont [9] bt. Irene Aldana [5] via UD3 (30-27 x 3)
Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes bt. Manuel Torres via R1 TKO (punches, 4:02)
Women’s Strawweight: Ketlen Souza bt. Yazmin Jauregui via R1 submission (rear-naked choke)
Flyweight: Joshua Van bt. Edgar Chairez via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr bt. Aori Qileng via UD3 (29-28 x 3)
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via UFC broadcast
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