Sean O'Malley v Merab Dvalishvili Odds: Champion slight favourite

Liam Williams Updated: 13 Sep 24 09:45

The UFC heads to the Sphere in Las Vegas as Sean O'Malley makes his second bantamweight title defence at UFC 306.

Sean O'Malley v Merab Dvalishvili odds

(Odds will display when markets are available)

O'Malley was one of the UFC's rising stars for so long with his flashy style and flashier appearance, rising to prominence after surviving a serious foot injury to beat Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222 back in March 2018. So severe was the injury, O'Malley was forced to conduct his post-fight interview on the ground.

O'Malley, who was 10-0 after the Soukhamthath fight, fell to 12-1 after being beaten by Marlon Vera, but Suga is unbeaten in six fights since with one no contest, winning either Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night in every bout.

O'Malley is perhaps a little fortunate to be in the position he's in, however. When taking on Petr Yan at UFC 280, the Russian looked to have secured a fairly comfortable decision win, only for two of the three judges to inexplicably award the fight to O'Malley. Indeed, 25 of the 26 media representatives scored the fight in favour of Yan.

Nevertheless it set up a title bout against Aljamain Sterling, who led something of a charmed life in his own run to the title, in Boston, Massachusetts, which was essentially a home game for the Irish-American O'Malley.

A TKO win paved the way for O'Malley to avenge his only MMA defeat to Vera, which he did so in ultra-convincing fashion, not dropping a single round.

But Merab Dvalishvili poses a much sterner test.

Having won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight title, Dvalishvili was awarded a UFC contract. The Georgian would lose his first two fights in the Octagon, but has won 10 straight since, most recently against Yan and Henry Cejudo.

While O'Malley is a more-than-competent grappler, Dvalishvili will surely look to take the fight to the ground as often as he can, but his stand-up game shouldn't be underestimated.

In the fight with Marlon Moraes, Dvalishvili was badly rocked and was moments away from having the fight stopped on two occasions. The Machine showed great heart to stay in the contest, eventually pounding his way to a TKO victory.

However it ends on Saturday night, it should be a fantastic watch.