Christopher De Santiago

4 days ago | bloodyelbow.com | Christopher De Santiago

UFC 316 is right around the corner with champion Merab Dvalishvili set to defend his title against Sean O’Malley on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. It won’t be the first time they’ve fought as Dvalishvili dethroned then champ O’Malley at UFC 306 last September. Dvalishvili outworked O’Malley across five rounds to win via unanimous decision. Dvalishvili claimed he was ‘taking it easy’ on O’Malley in their first fight, planning to finish ‘Suga’ in the rematch.

4 days ago | bloodyelbow.com | Christopher De Santiago

Sean O’Malley has shared his retirement plans ahead of UFC 316. This weekend in Newark, New Jersey, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion finds himself in another main event against Merab Dvalishvili. It was Dvalishvili who dethroned O’Malley last September at UFC 306, taking his title by unanimous decision. Following a successful surgery on his torn labrum, Sean O’Malley is confident as ever heading into his title rematch with Dvalishvili at UFC 316.

4 days ago | bloodyelbow.com | Christopher De Santiago

It’s about time Tom Aspinall moves on from Jon Jones. For almost 600 days, the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall has been waiting for his chance to prove he’s the best in the world. Whether that’s with a title unification vs. Jon Jones or not remains to be seen. UFC Heavyweight Champion Jones kept UFC fans guessing when he was recently asked about fighting Aspinall, saying he’s waiting on the UFC to make an official announcement.

4 days ago | bloodyelbow.com | Christopher De Santiago

The UFC’s bantamweight division has seen some great champions over the last decade. At 135lbs, there’s arguably no fighter greater than current champ Merab Dvalishvili, who puts his world title on the line for a second time this year at UFC 316. After defeating Umar Nurmagomedov earlier this year, Dvalishvili is set to meet Sean O’Malley in a rematch in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday.

1 week ago | bloodyelbow.com | Christopher De Santiago

Before he coached Sean O’Malley to a UFC Championship in 2023, Tim Welch was knocking on the door of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. UFC 316 is right around the corner and team O’Malley will look to recapture the title they lost to Merab Dvalishvili at the Sphere last September. Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley via unanimous decision after he exchanged words with O’Malley’s head coach Tim Welch mid-fight at UFC 306. Welch started coaching O’Malley after his fighting career was put on hold in 2017.