At UFC 316, Merab Dvalishvili will look to defend his bantamweight title for the second time.
Fight fans weren’t exactly enthused by the announcement that Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley 2 would be the next matchup at the top of the 135 pound division.
While O’Malley’s team have their reasons for losing the fight, the main event of UFC 306 didn’t appear to be overly competitive despite the relatively close scorecards.
Dvalishvili himself admitted that motivation could be an issue heading into the rematch having already gotten the better of ‘Suga’ last September.
The champion has been able to find that spark that he needs giving himself a goal that he wasn’t able to accomplish the first time around.
- READ MORE: Jon Jones proves bitter rival Daniel Cormier’s theory on why he won’t fight Tom Aspinall correct
Merab Dvalishvili admits he was ‘going easy’ on Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 with showboating
In a recent interview with The Schmo, Merab Dvalishvili admitted that he was “going easy” on Sean O’Malley in their first fight at UFC 306.
Aside from a worrying moment towards the end of the fight, many felt like the challenger was always in control of the action, even if two of the judges did only have him winning by one round.
“I do have extra motivation to finish this fight because [in the] first fight, I was going easy on him but this time, I’m looking for [the] finish. It’s nothing against him, this is sport and that’s what we do and I just want to make a statement this time.”
Dvalishvili elaborated on this assessment of the fight by referencing the various antics that he got up to inside the Octagon which only added to the narrative that he was dominant.
‘The Machine’ has a track record for playing up to the fans and this was on full display at Sphere.
“Yeah, I was laughing, I was showboating and stuff and then I was kissing him.”
Now, Dvalishvili is focused on finishing O’Malley in the rematch, putting aside his showboating so that he can produce an even more impressive performance in Newark.
“No, I’m not planning on kissing in this fight. I’m planning to finish him and if [a] kiss will come, I never plan this stuff. It’s just natural and depends [on] how I’m going to feel. I already kiss him, now it’s time to smash him.”
Merab Dvalishvili used showboating to help him beat Umar Nurmagomedov
Just like his first encounter with Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili’s title fight with Umar Nurmagomedov was another close contest on the scorecards.
Despite this, ‘The Machine’ started to showboat in the fifth round with Nurmagomedov’s coach believing that this helped to sway the judges in his favor.
“I told Umar, the reason why you didn’t win in the fifth round is because he [Merab] showboated his way to winning that,” Javier Mendez said on The Javier & Mo Show. “He acted like the victor when you were tired and that’s why I feel he basically took it from you, because you let him. When it comes to presence, he [Merab] definitely got that.”
With Nurmagomedov slowing down significantly as the fight went on, he was unable to match the constant energy of the champion as a showboating Dvalishvili appeared to be playing with his opponent.