June 7, 2025
UFC 316 — Dvalishvili Submits O'Malley in Rematch
At UFC 316 on June 7, 2025 Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his bantamweight title by submitting Sean O'Malley in the third round, a conclusive competitive result that left Dvalishvili with back-to-back wins over O'Malley [6].
Quick Facts
What Happened
On June 7, 2025, at UFC 316 in Newark, N.J., Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley met in a rematch for the UFC bantamweight title. Dvalishvili retained his championship by securing a submission victory over O'Malley in Round 3, as documented in post-event coverage and official fight reports [6]. The stoppage was a clear competitive resolution that differed from the judges' decision in their first meeting: whereas UFC 306 ended in a unanimous decision for Dvalishvili, UFC 316 ended by stoppage via submission, removing subjectivity from the outcome. Immediate post-fight reaction included Dvalishvili celebrating a successful defense and O'Malley offering public remarks that mixed praise with coarse language; press summaries quote O'Malley saying succinctly, "Merab’s a motherf*cker," while also noting O'Malley's reflective comments about life and family in the immediate post-fight exchange [6]. Coverage emphasized that Dvalishvili had established competitive dominance with two successive wins over a high-profile former champion.
What They Said
“Dvalishvili successfully defended his title, defeating O'Malley via third-round submission.”
“Merab’s a motherf*cker.”
Why It Matters
The June 7, 2025 rematch mattered because it provided a definitive competitive answer: Dvalishvili not only regained title status at UFC 306 but then defended it by submission at UFC 316, resolving the athletic contest between the two fighters with back-to-back victories for Dvalishvili [6]. From a narrative standpoint, the submission finish reduced room for disputed scoring narratives and strengthened Dvalishvili's position in the division and promotional storylines.
What Happened Next
Following the submission win, media coverage noted Dvalishvili's successful defense and O'Malley's mixed public comments (measured praise plus the coarse short remark reported in summaries), and mainstream recaps characterized the competitive arc as favoring Dvalishvili with consecutive victories [6]. There is no publicly documented joint reconciliation between the fighters in major outlets; the competitive question between them was settled in Dvalishvili's favor by June 7, 2025, and subsequent media focus shifted to Dvalishvili's reign and potential future challengers [6].