Credit: Mike Roach / Zuffa LLC
It was ‘and still’ for Merab Dvalishvili Sunday morning as he defeated former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley in the third round. Kayla Harrison put on a dominant display as she finished Julianna Pena at the end of round 2 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Merab Dvalishvili put on another authoritative performance, as he defeated Sean O’Malley in the third round as he secured a D’Arce choke to earn his second title defence and to also push his record to (20-4). O’Malley (18-3) looked bright at the start of the fight as he defended some of Dvalishvili’s takedowns but it wasn’t enough. Dvalishvili has now defended his bantamweight world title against the number one and two title contenders (O’Malley and Nurmagomedov), he will now look to secure his third title defence against Cory Sandhagen who is currently ranked at #4 in the world
Kayla Harrison got a finish over the bantamweight champion, Julianna Pena to become the new undisputed bantamweight champion. It was towards the final seconds on round number two, Harrison had Pena down against the fence and attempted a Kimura which Pena quickly tapped to. Harrison (19-1) after the fight, called out former two weight world champion, Amanda Nunes who was sat front row spectating. Nunes entered the cage and faced off was Harrison which now looks to be the biggest fight in women’s MMA history, as two weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes comes back to defend her legacy against newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion and two-time Olympic gold winner, Kayla Harrison.
Joe Pyfer was victorious against Kelvin Gastelum as he secured a unanimous decision victory after dropping Gastelum in the early seconds of the very first round.
Mario Bautista spoiled the party as he put on a dominant performance on Patchy Mix’s UFC debut. Bautista’s boxing looked sharp against the former Bellator champion, who only attempted one take down which was unsuccessful. Mix’s debut will definitely be one to forget as he will look to come back and prove himself to the UFC audience, while Bautista will look to secure a fight in the top five.
Kevin ‘Trailblazer’ Holland secured his 28th career win as he got a first round submission over Vicente Luque. Holland got Luque to scramble while Holland grabbed his neck and secured a D’Arce choke in the first minute of the bout. After the fight, Holland called out Colby Covington for his next fight as he said “Colby Covington, man you’re the worst guy in the welterweight division”. Holland said he’d like this fight in the summer or the fall.
