At Las Vegas, the UFC 306 bantamweight belt paved the way for several turns and twists to ensue. Georgian Merab Dvalishvili won by a unanimous decision against Sean O’Malley, stripping him of the title. The evening, which took place at The Sphere and was dedicated to Mexico on its independence day, definitely promised excitement from the start. However, the stellar confrontation turned out to be more tactical than explosive.

The Georgian opted for a strategy based on submission attempts rather than exchanges of blows, which left many spectators in awe. One of the many admirers was Aljamain Sterling. Aljo was present ringside to show support to his best friend Dvalishvili as he faced the rival that once dethroned him from the bantamweight throne. So it truly was an amazing sight for him to witness the Georgian win, as he revealed in a recent video.

In a recent interview with UFC legend Daniel Cormier, Sterling revealed what was going on in his mind before the fight. And while he was nervous for his best friend, he knew that ‘karma’ was going to hit O’Malley. He said, “What I was feeling before the fight was about to start was, Oh, sweet karma is about to happen. I just knew because I’ve trained with him, I fought him, I’ve analyzed his tapes, and I knew what I needed to do to beat him.”

He further added that he knew The Machine had it in him to defeat Suga. Aljo had trained with Dvalishvili and knew that he wasn’t just physically but also mentally prepared to win the title. As a result, he couldn’t wait to see O’Malley lose. “And yeah, it is what it is, but in my head, it was like, This is going to be the sweetest thing to watch. And, uh, it was very fitting for the name Sugar, you know, so I was like, This is going to be very sweet.”

Well, it sure looked like Dvalishvili exacted revenge for his friend. While O’Malley did throw Sterling off his game through his mind games before knocking him out in round 2 of their fight at UFC 292, Suga could not achieve the result against the much stoic Dvalishvili. And what resulted was a one-sided affair.

Dvalishvili decimates the former bantamweight champion

Merab Dvalishvili took the initiative from the beginning, looking for knockdowns that complicated Sean O’Malley. Despite displaying a penchant for stuffing takedowns in his fight against Petr Yan and Sterling, he was unable to repeat his heroics to retain his title. From the start, the fight was tilted in favor of Dvalishvili, who continued to press him with his skill on the ground. As the rounds progressed, the Georgian’s advantage became more apparent, and he was getting closer and closer to the UFC belt.

Although O’Malley showed flashes of skill and landed some heavy punches, he failed to endanger Dvalishvili, who seemed comfortable and in control throughout the fight. Nonetheless, Dvalishvili’s victory marked his 18th career triumph and 11th in a row, solidifying his position as a dominant force in the category. The night, while not the most exciting, celebrated a significant achievement for the Georgian fighter at the iconic Las Vegas arena. What did you think of the fight? Let us know in the comments.