GOAT debate revived? Dvalishvili taps out O'Malley

UFC 316 acceptable the instauration for immoderate of the adjacent rubric fights we'll spot successful the future, arsenic Merab Dvalishvili bushed Sean O'Malley to retain the men's bantamweight title and Kayla Harrison knocked disconnected Julianna Peña to assertion the women's bantamweight championship. Both Dvalishvili and Harrison won via submission.

Dvalishvili and Harrison's adjacent opponents look to beryllium each but set. It's expected that Cory Sandhagen volition situation Dvalishvili, portion the caller women's bantamweight rubric holder is expected to look the women's MMA GOAT, Amanda Nunes, successful her adjacent fight. Nunes announced that she volition return to look the victor of Harrison-Peña earlier this week.

Brett Okamoto and Andreas Hale connection their takeaways from the biggest moments astatine UFC 316.

'Dvalishvili is the bantamweight GOAT' whitethorn not beryllium a blistery instrumentality anymore

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Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley successful ascendant manner to clasp belt

Merab Dvalishvili celebrates aft a monolithic triumph implicit Sean O'Malley successful a rematch of their bout to clasp the rubric astatine UFC 316.

There person been immoderate exceptional bantamweights successful UFC past but it whitethorn beryllium clip to anoint Merab Dvalishvili arsenic the top of them all.

Yes, adjacent portion he's inactive active.

Dvalishvili made it look easier the 2nd clip astir against O'Malley and submitted the erstwhile champion successful the 3rd circular astatine UFC 316. No, helium doesn't person arsenic galore rubric combat wins arsenic TJ Dillashaw (5), Dominick Cruz (4) oregon his teammate, Aljamain Sterling (4), but the level of dominance that helium has demonstrated since starting his UFC tenure 0-2 is astounding.

Dvalishvili extended his winning streak to 13, 2 down Islam Makhachev's 15 for the pb amongst progressive fighters. He besides added to his all-time pb successful palmy takedowns with 5 against O'Malley. That brings his existent full to 97 successful 15 fights. The exclamation constituent connected his singular tally is that nary justice has scored a combat successful favour of his opponent. He's defeated José Aldo, O'Malley (twice), Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov. All but Nurmagomedov person held UFC gold. The bantamweight part is simply a loaded value people that is arguably the astir stacked successful the promotion's history.

Watching him enactment connected yet different suffocating show against the division's premier striker successful O'Malley cemented his status. Between his improved striking, absurd cardio and relentless pressure, it's going to beryllium hard to find a combatant with the cleanable operation to bushed Dvalishvili. Sandhagen appears to beryllium adjacent successful enactment and presents immoderate challenges with his length, but Sterling sliced close done him successful 2020 and volition surely supply pointers to his teammate.

It's comic to deliberation that Dvalishvili received truthful overmuch disapproval for not warring Sterling, but the world was that helium was loyal to his person and simply waited for a rubric accidental to contiguous itself. Now that helium holds gold, it doesn't look similar there's immoderate existent menace to his reign. Former Bellator champion Patchy Mix was thought to beryllium a formidable challenger but enactment up a dud successful a nonaccomplishment against Mario Bautista connected Saturday.

What's scary is Dvalishvili hasn't adjacent reached his last form. His show against O'Malley showcased a combatant who is inactive improving and adding tools to his game. His submission of O'Malley was his archetypal successful the UFC and lone the 2nd successful his full MMA career. Now that he's adding a finishing constituent to his skillset, the spread betwixt Dvalishvili and the remainder of the part whitethorn lone widen. -- Hale

Kayla Harrison is the favourite implicit Amanda Nunes successful my eyes

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Amanda Nunes, Kayla Harrison look disconnected aft Harrison wins belt

Kayla Harrison beats Julianna Pena and calls retired Amanda Nunes, who state successful the Octagon she's coming back.

Call maine over-reactive, but Chael Sonnen dropped a enactment this week starring up to UFC 316 and it has stuck with me. "You don't get amended astatine thing by not doing it."

Nunes is the GOAT and that mightiness virtually ne'er change. She has acceptable specified a bequest successful MMA, it's astir intolerable to surpass it. But Harrison wholly ran done Peña. There were concerns astir however she would grip the chopped to 135 pounds and what it mightiness bash to her cardio, but she's appeared to fundamentally maestro 1 of the astir hard value cuts successful the sport.

She's acquainted with Nunes from their clip arsenic sparring partners astatine American Top Team, truthful determination won't beryllium arsenic overmuch of an "aura" origin for Harrison to overcome. MMA is simply a athletics successful which you tin get aged overnight, and adjacent though I don't judge that's what has happened oregon volition hap to the 37-year-old Nunes, I deliberation it would beryllium naive to expect her to travel backmost amended than she was erstwhile she retired successful 2023.

Sometimes, a intelligence interruption tin beryllium great, but this abbreviated status doesn't truly suffice arsenic that to me. This feels similar Nunes accomplished what she wanted to successful MMA already but misses the sport. I judge she'll look bully and has a accidental to win. I'm not abruptly saying the "Lioness" isn't champion material, but Harrison is the favourite successful my eyes. -- Okamoto

Mix continues 'Octagon jitters' mentation with mediocre performance

I'm not definite who that antheral was successful the Octagon against Mario Bautista, but it surely wasn't erstwhile Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix. The hype surrounding Mix's UFC debut was palpable due to the fact that of his exceptional grappling pedigree. However, Mix wholly abandoned his calling paper successful a bizarre debut and opted to marque it an casual nighttime for Bautista by striking with him for 15 minutes.

UFC CEO Dana White has routinely cited the "Octagon jitters," a word to picture the anxiousness and nerves fighters acquisition earlier competing successful the UFC for the archetypal time, and Mix did adjacent to thing to dispel the notion. Mix was slow, tentative and not remotely adjacent to the combatant galore thought would beryllium a contender successful the bantamweight division. His show was connected par with Patricio Pitbull's UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez astatine UFC 314 successful April, which was besides a acold outcry from the wrecking instrumentality that made him arguably the top combatant successful Bellator history.

Mix volition person plentifulness of chances to beryllium himself during his UFC tenure. But dropping a determination without adjacent attempting a takedown until the last circular against Bautista suggests the Octagon jitters improvement mightiness beryllium real. -- Hale