Merab Dvalishvili just keeps getting better. The reigning UFC bantamweight champion secured his first-ever UFC submission on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, tapping out Sean O’Malley with a nasty north-south choke to successfully defend his title in UFC 316’s main event. With the victory, Dvalishvili moves to 2-0 over the former champ O’Malley.

In a ferocious showing of the cardio for which he’s become renown, Dvalishvili (20-4) drowned O’Malley (18-3, 1 NC) in takedown attempts before finally overwhelming him with the third-round finishing sequence. O’Malley showcased improved takedown defense and fended off six of Dvalishvili’s first eight attempts, however, the relentless motor of “The Machine” was ultimately O’Malley’s downfall, as the exhausted former champ surrendered 3-of-4 takedowns in the deciding round before offering a frustrated tapout.

“He was well trained, he was well prepared, and I knew that he was going to make changes because, hey, every time I lost I made big changes and I learned from it,” an overjoyed Dvalishvili said post-fight. “But I’m getting better and better. I wasn’t showing this technique [before] and I have more tools in my pocket I’m still working on, and then little by little I will show. Now it’s my time.”

Dvalishvili, 34, then centered on top bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen as his next challenge.

“He’s the most deserving guy,” Dvalishvili said of Sandhagen. “He’s been here so many times, he’s a really good guy, respectful guy, and I like his jokes too.”

Dvalishvili entered the night as Uncrowned’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His current 13-fight win streak is tied for the fourth-longest in UFC history, and he is a perfect 2-0 with two title defenses thus far in 2025, having previously bested Umar Nurmagomedov in January at UFC 311.

O’Malley, 30, hadn’t competed since dropping his belt in a hard-fought decision to Dvalishvili at the UFC’s visit to the Las Vegas Sphere in September. Perhaps the biggest name in the UFC bantamweight division, O’Malley must now go back to the drawing board on the first losing streak of his pro career.

“I didn’t feel like it was going to go like that,” O’Malley said. “Unfortunately it did. Merab is a motherf***er.”

In the evening’s co-main event, Kayla Harrison (19-1) at long last ascended to the top of the UFC ranks with a dominant second-round submission victory over Julianna Peña (12-6) to capture the women’s bantamweight title. Post-fight, Harrison faced off with MMA legend Amanda Nunes, who confirmed that she is coming out of retirement to challenge her former American Top Team teammate, Harrison, for the belt.

Check out full UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s round-by-round play-by-play for the final seven bouts of the night.

Main Card

Bantamweight championship: Merab Dvalishvili def. Sean O’Malley via submission (north-south choke) at 4:42 of R3 | Watch finish

Women’s bantamweight championship: Kayla Harrison def. Julianna Peña via submission (kimura) at 4:55 of R2 | Watch finish

Middleweight: Joe Pyfer def. Kelvin Gastelum via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)

Bantamweight: Mario Bautista def. Patchy Mix via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Welterweight: Kevin Holland def. Vicente Luque via submission (D’arce choke) at 1:03 of R2 | Watch finish

Prelims

Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Bruno Silva via TKO (strikes) at 4:01 of R3 | Watch finish

Light heavyweight: Azamat Murzakanov def. Brendson Ribeiro via TKO (punches) at 3:25 of R1 | Watch finish

Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight: Andreas Gustafsson def. Khaos Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Early prelims

132-pound catchweight: Wang Cong def. Ariane da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Featherweight: JooSang Yoo def. Jeka Saragih via KO (punch) at 0:28 of R1 | Watch finish

Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld def. Yanal Ashmouz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Lightweight: MarQuel Mederos def. Mark Choinski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)