In the UFC 316 main event, Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defeated Sean O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) even more emphatically than he did the first time the two fought, as he retained his title via North-South neck crank. The stoppage came at 4:42 of Round 3.

Merab Dvalishvili effortlessly defeated Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, N.J., securing a third-round modified choke in their rematch to retain the bantamweight championship.

Merab Dvalishvili canceled the Sugar Show and retained his UFC bantamweight title again with a third-round submission win over Sean O'Malley in the UFC 316 main event.