‘Sugar Show Is Back!’: Dana White Excites Fans With Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili 2 for UFC 316

UFC boss Dana White’s journey into Instagram Live today didn’t exactly bear the fruits everyone had wished for. There is still no official word on the Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall fight. However, in another exciting match up, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley returns to the octagon for a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on June 7.

Since losing his title to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision at UFC 306, O’Malley had been clamoring for a rematch with the Georgian champion. The UFC couldn’t fix it up immediately, however, courtesy of O’Malley’s hip surgery.

But now that he’s been up and about for weeks, the brass has finally decided to act on it, especially since, in the absence of competition, the champion Dvalishvili is a risk to himself. Yes, the Georgian almost fell off a hill while filming a TikTok dance in March.

However, even at his goofiest self, Merab is a menace in the octagon and at their first outing at UFC Noche in 2024, had thoroughly dominated O’Malley. This is why fans aren’t particularly taking out the fireworks just yet.

This is not to say there’s no fanfare. Some believe Dvalishvili’s relentless pace and grappling will once again be too much for O’Malley, with one fan confidently stating, “Merab will take this easily, but O’Malley will make it fun.”

Others are simply excited about the spectacle, marking their calendars and calling it a “fire card” and a “hell of an event”. Meanwhile, for loyal O’Malley customers, this is a chance to see their leader return to action. “This is huge! The Sugar Show is back”, said one of these fans.

“Definitely marking June 7th on my calendar for some epic matchups and intense action!” said another.

And, of course, there were some playful reminders for O’Malley to stay disciplined, with one fan joking, “Suga better lay off the weed for this fight, he’s gonna need that oxygen.”- a reminder of Merab’s relentless cardio.

Meanwhile, O’Malley now has a chance to make history. If he wins back the title, he will join the small group of fighters who have held the bantamweight belt twice, like Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw.

He already got his revenge against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299, and he’s determined to do the same for Dvalishvili. Hopefully he puts on a better show than he did last time around.

Especially since O’Malley vs Dvalishvili is going to follow another title showdown between Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison and UFC champion Julianna Pena.

Harrison gets her title shot

The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and former PFL titleholder had called out Pena months ago, But Pena had declined this demand for a title shot, instead calling out the retired Amanda Nunes for a comeback fight.

Unfortunately for Pena, the powers that be had different plans.

Pena, a two-time titleholder, enters this fight riding high off a contentious split decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307, which marked the beginning of her second reign as the 135-pound champion.

On the other side, Harrison has been on a tear since her UFC debut just a year ago, boasting a flawless 2-0 record with a submission victory over former champion Holly Holm and a commanding decision win over Ketlen Viera at UFC 307.

Despite having just two fights in the organization so far, Harrison was always too big of a signing by the UFC not to be fighting for the top spot in the division.

With a professional record of 18-1, the 34-year-old has only dropped one fight in her pro MMA career -against Larissa Pacheco, whom she later defeated twice.

The former Olympian is a specimen at bantamweight, often too big and strong for her opponents to handle, with truly enviable judo and grappling skills.

Pena and Harrison don’t particularly like each other, so this is expected to be a rather violent affair. Hopefully, it lives up to the hype.