Merab Dvalishvili has big plans for the rest of 2025.
As he prepares to defend his UFC bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 316 on June 7, Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) is already envisioning a busy second half of the year inside the Octagon.
“The Machine,” who successfully defended his belt with a win over Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January, hopes to live up to his nickname by defeating O’Malley and then defending the title two more times before the year ends.
With the UFC set to hold major pay-per-view events in Guadalajara, Mexico and New York City in the fall, Dvalishvili wants to get past O’Malley and then fight at the top of both of those cards.
"God willing, this will happen," Dvalishvili said this week in an interview with ESPN. "I'm working hard for win and to defend my belt again. I don't look at this as an easy fight, it's going to be a challenge, but I want to be busy. I'm only going to take one month off, and I'll be back to training camp. I want to be busy. I heard they're going to have a fight in Guadalajara, Mexico, and I'd like to fight there and then fight in New York (in November) or in December. Let's see. This one and two more this year. Let's see."
Dvalishvili became the UFC bantamweight champion when he defeated O’Malley in dominant fashion at UFC 306 last September. On the eve of their rematch, the Georgian expects a tougher challenge the second time around.
"I'm sure it's going to be a big fight, we know he is the most popular in our weight class now," Dvalishvili said. "But to be honest, for me, it's about legacy and every fight is important. I'm excited for this rematch just for fighting, and I'm going to try to finish, I want to try striking, I want to try different things. I know Sean will change his plan. He's also saying he's going to be 70 percent better version, and I want to see this and test this. I'm more excited with this. Of course, thank God the UFC is a big organization and every time we fight, we make good money. I'm good with money. I'm more excited to fight.
"I'm fighting the same guy. But I know this guy will be more dangerous. The first fight, I was game. I had a game plan and I knew it was going to work against him. He had a game plan, and I stopped his game plan. Now I know what gamelan he's going to have, well, I'm guessing he's going to attack from the beginning with either striking or kicks. He was waiting for me, and I was just keeping distance and every time he closed distance, I was taking him down. This time, it's going to be a different game. Every fight is a new experience and I try to learn from everything."
