Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has issued a caution to reigning titleholder Merab Dvalishvili ahead of UFC 323, set for December 6 at the T‑Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With Dvalishvili preparing for his fourth title defense against Petr Yan, O’Malley believes the champion’s growing confidence in striking could become a liability.
“He’s way more confident in his hands, and his hands have improved a lot,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.
“He actually cracked me a few times in that second fight. It’s just so hard to fight someone when you have to respect their wrestling so much, and then they start throwing hands. He’s doing a really good job of mixing it up.
“Could that be the downfall for him vs. Petr? He gets a little bit confident in those hands, Petr’s counters – I rewatched me vs. Petr a couple of days ago, and the couple times I would sit in there with the one-two, and he would counter so f*cking hard and fast. If Merab does decide ‘I do want to trade with him a little bit,’ that could be his downfall.”
From Grappling Dominance to Striking Growth
Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) initially gained fame for his relentless wrestling, particularly during his first bout with Yan in March 2023, where he landed 11 takedowns out of 49 attempts. Over time, however, “The Machine” has demonstrated improved striking skills, recently rocking Cory Sandhagen en route to a unanimous decision at UFC 320.
O’Malley warns that this shift in style, while impressive, might tempt Dvalishvili to engage in exchanges with Yan where he could be vulnerable.
Past Injuries and Cage Size Impact
O’Malley also pointed out factors from their first fight that may have influenced the outcome.
“Petr supposedly hurt his hand or had a really bad injury on his hand going into that first fight,” O’Malley explained.
“I will say, the first fight was in the small cage, fighting in the small cage, and the big cage is completely different. It was 50-45, Petr didn’t win a single round.”
The shift to a larger octagon could give Yan more room to capitalize on any overconfidence in Dvalishvili’s hands.
Looking at both fighters’ growth since their first encounter, O’Malley believes Dvalishvili has made significant strides.
“That’s a good question because Petr has improved a ton since that last fight,” O’Malley said. “He went out there and beat Figueiredo, he beat Song Yadong, and Marcus McGhee. Petr has looked really good, definitely looks like he’s improved.
“Merab has improved, I would say, more than anybody. After that first fight with me, I feel like him going to that Umar fight, he leveled-up a ton.
“And then after the Umar fight, like the second time I fought him, I feel like from the first time I fought him to the second time I fought him, it was only eight months, I regret having surgery and fighting a machine like that after eight months. It was probably not the smartest move I’ve done, especially against a f*cking machine like Merab, but his improvement has been insane from each fight. So, I’d say Merab’s probably improved more.”
As fight night approaches, the matchup between Dvalishvili and Yan carries high stakes for the bantamweight division. O’Malley’s analysis suggests that while Dvalishvili’s enhanced stand-up game makes him more versatile, leaning too heavily on striking could invite punishment from a sharp counter-striker like Yan.
Published on October 21, 2025 at 9:34 pm
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