In an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, UFC fighter Irina Alekseeva discussed Merab Dvalishvili’s victory over Sean O’Malley in the title fight at UFC 306.
It went pretty much how I expected. The first few minutes were just for trying it out. It was clear that Merab was nervous in the first round; he had a hard time finding the right keys. Then he simply created activity with his hands and turned to wrestling, which is what he was supposed to do. No one expected Dvalishvili to score any knockouts, everyone understood he would go for the wrestling. It was the right decision, because wrestling is his strong point. Sean did the same things he always does. It would have been surprising if O'Malley had begun to wrestle. But Sean managed to impress by sometimes getting out of situations when caught in Merab’s grip.
Irina Alekseeva exclusively for Telecom Asia Sport
Recall that on September 15, Dvalishvili defeated O'Malley by unanimous decision in the main fight of the UFC 306 tournament and became the new champion of the promotion in the bantamweight division.
The 33-year-old Dvalishvili has 18 wins and four losses, the 29-year-old O'Malley has 18 wins, two losses and one no contest.