Merab Dvalishvili retains his 135-pound championship

[Pelican Press 0]

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Merab Dvalishvili retains his 135-pound championship

Merab Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound (61kg) championship when he tapped out Sean O’Malley in the third round in the main event of UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey.

The 34-year-old won the belt in a convincing – though not aesthetically pleasing – unanimous decision last year over O’Malley.

Dvalishvili had his number in Saturday night’s rematch in front of a packed crowd that included President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight boxing great Mike Tyson.

The Georgian (19-4) sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory.

“I’m on top of the world!,” he said..

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison is now a UFC champion.

Harrison tapped out 135-pound champion Julianna Pena with five seconds left in the second round to add another major championship to her haul.

No US judoka — man or woman — had won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain’s Gemma Gibbons to win the women’s 78kg division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018.

The 34-year-old Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration. She then called out Amanda Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner.

Harrison left the cage after the win and hugged Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage.

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