UFC 316 LIVE: Merab Dvalishvili submits Sean O’Malley after Kayla Harrison crowned champion
Dvalishvili dominated to force an O’Malley tap in the third round of their high-stakes rematch
Merab Dvalishvili produced another dominant title defence to submit Sean O’Malley in their rematch at UFC 316 and stake his claim as the greatest bantamweight of all time.
Dvalishvili made his second defence of the belt, having dethroned O’Malley with a comprehensive decision win in September, before outpointing Umar Nurmagomedov in a stunning comeback in January. And after going two rounds up, he locked in a neck crank in the third round to secure the first finish of his title reign.
It came after Kayla Harrison dethroned Julianna Pena in the co-main event to become the UFC’s bantamweight queen, promptly using the throne to invite women’s GOAT Amanda Nunes to return from retirement in a mouth-watering clash. In lifting the title, judo-master Harrison became only the second athlete ever to boast an Olympic gold medal and UFC gold on their resume.
Also in action were former Bellator champion Patchy Mix, whose UFC debut proved incredibly underwhelming as he lost convincingly to Mario Bautista, as well as fan favourite Kevin Holland, who kicked off the main card with a submission victory over Vicente Luque.
Relive all the action from UFC 316 below:
UFC 316 LIVE: O’Malley accepts fans’ frustration at his title rematch
Sean O’Malley accepts that some UFC fans are frustrated by his title shot against Merab Dvalishvili, after he was easily dethroned by the Georgian in his last fight.
“Sugar Sean vs Merab 2 is happening, and I don’t think people are going to be too happy about it,” O’Malley said in April.
“The last time I fought the best bantamweight in the world – the best bantamweight at the time [Aljamain Sterling] – I got the job done. I’m very confident in my skills.
“Last camp we had some s*** going on. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. We had a great camp, I showed up, I was in shape, we did what we could with what we were able to do. This camp has already been a lot different, and I’m feeling good. I’m excited to go out there and take care of business.
“Last fight camp, every single journal entry was like, ‘My groin kept me up at night,’ because I tore my labrum 10 weeks before the fight. I tore my groin labrum, and I was having serious groin pain. It was super... it wasn’t ideal.”
More here:
UFC star accepts fans’ frustration at his upcoming title shot
UFC 316 LIVE: Azamat Murzakanov vs Brendson Ribeiro
Round one
Ribeiro is the first to show signs of getting going as he tees off on Murzakanov with kicks.
The Brazilian is looking pretty confident, before BOOM! Murzakanov shifts the tide dramatically with a heavy left before mauling Ribeiro on the ground! It looked like he verbally tapped in the end, putting an end to the vicious ground and pound. And that’s 15-0!
Azamat Murzakanov def. Brendson Ribeiro via first-round knockout (ground strikes, 3:25)
UFC 316 LIVE: Azamat Murzakanov vs Brendson Ribeiro
To light heavyweight action we go and it’s Brendson Ribeiro up against the undefeated Azamat Murzakanov.
Bruce Buffer is doing his spiel - stay tuned for all the action, up next!
UFC 316 LIVE: Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Round three
Waldo changes his shorts and rips the sides to make them more like his originals. Spivac has been told not to go for takedowns because Waldo is “too slippery”. And the third is underway.
Spivac needs to get on the attack after the second and he does just that as he launches a NUCLEAR overhand towards the skull of Cortes-Acosta. He doesn’t catch all of it but he does enough to evoke what, at first, looked like a seismic wobble from Waldo - but it’s actually completely theatrical as Waldo laughs it off.
Some more big shots come in as Waldo comes under pressure. However, he is able to survive and continues to bring the fight to Spivac.
With a minute to go, Spivac picks Waldo up and dunks him down. He gets straight back up but that nevertheless might be enough to win him the round in the judges’ eyes.
A last-gasp firefight doesn’t come to a Max Holloway-esque KO and we go to the judges.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Serghei Spivac via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 316 LIVE: Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Round two
Cortes-Acosta kicks off the second on the offensive, clipping with a right hand over the top before changing levels, jabbing at the body and chopping the wood.
They then come together and let their hands go, with Spivac testing Cortes-Acosta’s chin with a sharp right - it withstands.
Waldo is chipping away at Spivac’s resolve with his low kicks, which aren’t getting checked, but nearly gets caught with a single leg. Great takedown defence showcased to stay upright.
Safe to say both fighters are slowing down, though. We’ll go to a third.
UFC 316 LIVE: Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Round one
Cortes-Acosta starts by trying to do damage with the leg kicks but quickly falls victim to a couple big connections from Spivac that has the Dominican on the retreat!
Spivac soon gets Cortes-Acosta down and up against the cage. We already established in the previous fight that the crowd isn’t going to stand for that.
Cortes-Acosta stumbles back out of nowhere - maybe he hurt himself - but returns with a big overhand that echoes off the shiny head of Spivac.
Heavy right hand from the Polar Bear leaves something extra for the judges to mull over after the first.
UFC 316 LIVE: Serghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Heavyweights in action next up as Serghei Spivac faces off against Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
Spivac comes into this off defeat to Jailton Almeida, with this acting as a big opportunity for Cortes-Acosta to break into the top 10.
The big boys are in the cage!
Andreas Gustafsson: 'I'm the least technical fighter in the UFC'
“I’m the least technical fighter in the UFC, I just love a good fight and a brawl, just like the vikings,” says Gustafsson post-fight.
Not your usual brag, but I’m a fan!
UFC 316 LIVE: Khaos Williams vs Andreas Gustafsson
Round three
The slapper sounds and it’s more of the same from Gustafsson. He flies in and echoes a shot off the now-bleeding Khaos before promptly getting him against the cage. Williams is just surviving at this point.
“This is a phone booth fight,” says Joe Rogan on commentary. It’s just short punches up against the fence at this point and Williams can only try to defend, his spirit being broken.
Khaos eventually gets away from the cage but he rolls into a worse position with Gustafsson on top, raining down punches as he looks to take the judges out of the equation.
The fight concludes with Gustafsson on Khaos’ back, mauling him to the final buzzer. It goes the distance, but this won’t be a tough decision for the judges to make...
Andreas Gustafsson def. Khaos Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
What a debut!
UFC 316 LIVE: Khaos Williams vs Andreas Gustafsson
Round two
The second gets underway and, already, Khaos is looking fatigued. Gustafsson is landing big shots and hurts him with a jab to one-two combo.
Another right pings off the chin of Williams before he finally gets taken down. From there, the American is getting mauled. He’s taken to the mat two more times before getting blasted with lefts up against the cage.
Khaos’ corner said he needed to win this round after the first. He’s just been roundly dominated.
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