Merab Dvalishvili Claims Referee Herb Dean’s Intervention Could Have Caused Him Serious Trouble in First Sean O’Malley Fight

UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is gearing up for his second title defense at UFC 316 this Saturday. He is set to face Sean O’Malley in a rematch at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Ahead of the highly anticipated bout, Dvalishvili took a trip down memory lane and reflected on the fifth round of their first showdown at UFC 306.

Merab Dvalishvili Believes Referee’s Call Nearly Cost Him Against Sean O’Malley in First Fight

Merab Dvalishvili was interviewed by Daniel Cormier ahead of UFC 316. Cormier asked him about the fifth round at UFC 306, when Sean O’Malley landed a body kick, and asked, “Did ‘Suga’ crack you in that round?”

“The Machine” emphasized that while O’Malley’s body kicks were impactful, he was handling them well, and a few more kicks could have created a problem. The Georgian fighter pointed out that just before taking the kick, he had O’Malley pinned down, but referee Herb Dean intervened and told him to take action, which led to O’Malley escaping and landing the kick.

“I’m not going to say crack me, but he let me feel his… like the first time I felt his body kick, and then if he landed two more clean like that, then maybe it could’ve been a problem, you know? That’s why, like when he got me with the body kick, I was like, f**k,” Dvalishvili said on Cormier’s YouTube channel. “Just two minutes earlier, I was holding him down, but because the referee told me, ‘Move, do something,’ I let him get up. I shouldn’t have let him.”

Merab claims two more body shots from Sean O’Malley in the 5th round would have caused him problems.😲👀

“First time I felt his body kick, and if he had landed two more clean shots like that, it would have been a problem.” ✅

🎥@dc_mma pic.twitter.com/NZ2gQr0t4n

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 6, 2025

Dvalishvili secured a unanimous decision victory over O’Malley at UFC 306 to become the new king of the Bantamweight division.

Sean O’Malley Predicts Knockout and Merab Dvalishvili Promises To Humble “Suga” at UFC 316

Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley were on good terms after their first fight at UFC 306. In the lead-up to UFC 316, both fighters spoke respectfully of each other. However, tensions escalated during the pre-fight press conference for UFC 316, where “Suga” vowed to finish the Bantamweight king and claimed fans wouldn’t care about the Georgian after the event.

“You know, I truly believe I’m going to knock Merab out. Come Sunday, no one’s going to give a f*ck about Merab and that’s just, it is what it is.”

Dvalishvili responded by asserting that he would humble the former champion this Saturday.

“Keep talking, and you’re going to get more humble. I’m making people humble, and you will see on June 7. Yeah, you was playing all this time like a humble guy. But okay, I’ll show you again one more time.”