Newly-crowned UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili decided to kiss Sean O’Malley’s back mid-scramble in their UFC 306 main event.
Merab Dvalishvili
Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley to earn the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 306 on Saturday in Las Vegas. He capped off a long unbeaten streak in the Octagon with a title victory in a mostly dominant performance against O’Malley.
UFC 306
Dvalishvili’s win featured a bizarre moment at the end of the second round. About 10 seconds before the round’s conclusion, Dvalishvili repeatedly kissed O’Malley’s back mid-scramble, before nearly taking a knockout blow from O’Malley at the buzzer.
Merab Dvalishvili explains strange mid-fight moment at UFC 306
At the UFC 306 post-fight press conference, Dvalishvili explained the bizarre mid-fight moment.
Merab Dvalishvili Kisses Sean O’Malley
“So I grab his neck and he has 10 seconds left,” Dvalishvili said. “I know he can wait and he’s not going to sleep or tap from this and I wanted to make just a little fun of him and make him—I don’t hate the guy, just make fun of him, but at same time, give him a little kiss to show that I’m dominant. I control this fight, I break you. That’s why I was kissing him…
“But I had too much fun there and I guess I [lost track of time], but when I let go, he followed me and he punched the back of my head and I protect myself again. I said, ‘Referee, again, I’m sorry, referee. I’m sorry.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Dvalishvili is no stranger to odd moments in the middle of his fights. During his UFC 298 win over Henry Cejudo, he attempted to have a conversation with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as he sat cageside.
Dvalishvili will likely face the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov for his first title defense. Umar, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, defeated Cory Sandhagen last month.
As Dvalishvili begins his bantamweight title reign, it’s safe to say that fans should expect the unexpected with the Georgian.