Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley in Round 3 at UFC 316

Merab Dvalishvili effortlessly defeated Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, N.J., securing a third-round modified choke in their rematch to retain the bantamweight championship.

With President Donald Trump watching from cageside, Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA) emphatically displayed his wrestling base to tire out the former champion and make an argument as one of the sport's best bantamweights, perhaps of all time.

Dvalishvili, who won at 4:42 of the third round for his 13th consecutive victory, said he would welcome his next title defense against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA), a winner of four of his last five fights.

"You're the man, let's go," Dvalishvili said, indicating that he would be interested in fighting Sandhagen next.

O'Malley (18-3 MMA) fell to Dvalishvili last September by unanimous decision, relinquishing his title. O'Malley confirmed the loss is a minor setback, reassuring of a steady return.

"100 percent, thank you guys for coming out," O'Malley said.

The women's bantamweight title changed hands in the co-main event, as Kayla Harrison submitted Julianna Pena with a second-round kimura.

Harrison and Pena embraced in the Octagon afterward, showing utmost class for one another after Harrison controlled every aspect of the fight.

Harrison said during her post-fight interview that her weight cut was so draining on Thursday night that she "wanted to quit," but it would have been a mistake in her eyes, given that most fighters in MMA don't win a UFC title.

Harrison (19-1 MMA) called out Pena's (13-6 MMA) former rival, Amanda Nunes. Nunes (23-5 MMA) is a former two-division champion who retired in 2023. As time passed, she teased a comeback. It now seems inevitable, as Harrison and Nunes