UFC 316 Main Event Preview and Prediction: Merab Dvalishvili – Sean O’Malley 2

In the main event of UFC 316 tomorrow night, the bantamweight title is on the line in a rematch. Merab Dvalishvili (19-4) will look to defend his title for the second time as he takes on the man he defeated to become champion in “Suga” Sean O’Malley (18-2).

Starting with the challenger, this will be the first time we’ve seen O’Malley since their first fight last September. O’Malley went into that fight with some hip issues and the suffocating pace of Merab Dvalishvili just froze him throughout the fight. While he had moments, it was definitely Merab’s fight and O’Malley is looking to prove that he’s improved enough to win the belt back.

Merab Dvalishvili turned right around after winning the belt last September and fought Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January. After dropping the first couple of rounds, Dvalishvili stormed back to win the final three rounds and retain his bantamweight title with an incredible performance. Dvalishvili hasn’t lost in almost five years and he’s hoping to get his second win over O’Malley tomorrow night.

UFC 316 Prediction

I do think we are going to see a better version of Sean O’Malley at UFC 316. I think he’s never taken a fight more serious and I believe that he’s done everything he can to prepare for The Machine. The big question is whether or not all the preparation is even going to matter.

We know what O’Malley does well and that’s strike from distance. He’s arguably the best sniper in all the lower weight classes and he carries a ton of power. We’ve also seen Dvalishvili get hurt on the feet in past fights. Much like the first fight, I only see O’Malley winning if he’s able to catch Dvalishvili on the feet which can certainly happen.

However, I’m going to pick the champion to retain tomorrow night. While I think we will see a better version of O’Malley, I just don’t think he’s going to be able to overcome the pace and pressure of Dvalishvili. I think Dvalishvili will be active enough with volume and takedowns to win at least three rounds and retain his bantamweight title.

Prediction: Merab Dvalishvili by Decision