Watch: Scenes of joy as Merab Dvalishvili's family watches him conquer Sean O'Malley again at UFC 316
Reigning UFC bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili's family is thrilled after Dvalishvili secured a third-round submission victory against Sean O'Malley at UFC 316.
When O'Malley and Dvalishvili first locked horns at UFC 306 in 2024, the fight went the full distance, with 'The Machine' securing a unanimous decision victory to dethrone 'Suga.'
Dvalishvili defended his strap for the first time earlier this year at UFC 311 against Umar Nurmagomedov and won by unanimous decision. However, this weekend, when the Georgian champion met O'Malley for the second time, he delivered as promised and secured a stoppage victory, which sparked a reaction from his family.
Home of Fight on X, reshared a clip by Setanta Sports that shows the family's euphoric celebration, right after 'The Machine' caught 'Suga' with a north-south choke, forcing O'Malley to tap.
Check out Merab Dvalishvili’s family's reaction below:
Merab Dvalishvili and Nina-Marie Daniele are coming to Georgia
Merab Dvalishvili and MMA interviewer Nina-Marie Daniele are coming to Georgia this week. The Georgian UFC champion, after another dominant display against Sean O'Malley in the rematch, is now going back to his country to celebrate his second successful title defense.
Daniele confirmed the news on Instagram, in a post captioned:
"Big announcement! @merab.dvalishvili and I are coming to Georgia this week! I am going to livestream my adventures with Merab (Link in my bio). Can’t wait to meet all the beautiful people of Georgia, learn about your culture and eat delicious food and dance! I see all the warm messages and can’t wait to meet you all! 🇬🇪"
Check out Nina-Marie Daniele's post below:
Dvalishvili is expected to face No. 4-ranked UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen next. The former also hopes to fight two more times this year.
Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has pitched the idea of Dvalishvili fighting Umar Nurmagomedov again.