Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley are locked in.
On Saturday, Dvalishvili places his bantamweight title on the road in opposition to O’Malley in the principle occasion of UFC 316, a rematch of their 135-pound title battle at UFC 306 that noticed Dvalishvili declare the belt from “Suga.” And at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, the 2 confronted off for the ultimate time earlier than locking horns as soon as once more.
“Tomorrow gained’t be kissing,” Dvalishvili stated, referencing their first battle. “I’m gonna smash this man. And nonetheless!”
O’Malley stored issues much more concise, promising a return to the highest of the mountain and revenge on his rival.
“Too sharp, too quick, too targeted. And new!”
Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 just isn’t the one title battle on Saturday. The co-main occasion contains a ladies’s bantamweight championship bout between Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison. Whereas Dvalishvili and O’Malley have been pretty respectful within the build-up to their battle, Peña and Harrison have had a bit extra warmth between them, and that manifested itself of their respective ultimate phrases of warning to one another.
“I’m a harmful fighter,” Peña stated. “The final time you guys counted me out, you all took it up the you-know-what. On the finish of the day, I’ve three paths to victory: off of my again, off of the cage, and on my toes. You guys are all going to search out out what occurs tomorrow evening.”
“Julianna is nice, however tomorrow she’s useless,” Harrison supplied. “That is for God, for my nation, for my household, and for me.”
UFC 316 goes down Saturday evening at Prudential Middle in Newark, NJ, with the pay-per-view principal card kicking off at 10 p.m. ET.
