Merab is the new champion

Georgian Dream

Merab Dvalishvili is the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. "The Machine" used his signature, intense, grappling-focused style to neutralize Sean O'Malley's offensive weapons, earning a well-deserved unanimous decision victory (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).

The Georgian challenger showed an impressive focus on keeping the distance close and keeping the fight on the ground whenever he was able to get O'Malley to the mat. There, he established the upper hand and was able to land many strikes from that position, visibly wearing O'Malley down. The previous champion landed very few strikes, and even fewer had any real impact—a marked difference from his recent performances. The threat of Dvalishvili's takedowns and his stifling ground game pushed O'Malley out of his comfort zone.

An outstanding tactical performance by the challenger to dethrone the colorful champion. Dvalishvili impressed with great stamina, stuck to his proven strategy, and fought with discipline to achieve his ultimate goal. This puts him on eleven consecutive victories and, after Aljamain Sterling, becomes the second member of the Serra-Longo team to win the bantamweight title.

Bullet crowns himself again

And New to Valentina Shevchenko

There was another And New tonight in the women's flyweight division. Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko dominated nearly every moment of the fight on the ground, perfectly timing her level changes to put Alexa Grasso on her back and keep her there for an extended period. While the defending champion attempted submission attacks at every opportunity, she only really came close once, when she applied a guillotine choke in the fourth round. Otherwise, Shevchenko was controlled, patient, and in complete control, demonstrating her class and the depth of her martial arts in her 11th consecutive UFC title fight.

After the frustrating result of their last encounter, Shevchenko finally secured a convincing victory and reclaimed her place on the throne. The 36-year-old became the first two-time women's flyweight champion, the fifth two-time titleholder on the women's side of the sport, and the 14th fighter in UFC history to achieve multiple title reigns in the same division.

In the remaining main card, Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega battled it out over three rounds, which the Brazilian newcomer won by unanimous decision. Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics earned the Fight of the Night bonus, the latter winning by split decision. Ronaldo Rodriguez also triumphed over Ode Osbourne (decision).