- Merab Dvalishvili linked up with Jon Jones to celebrate his UFC 306 title fight win over Sean O’Malley
- “The Machine” explained the message behind kissing “Suga” in the middle of the fight
Merab Dvalishvili couldn’t help but laugh as he talked about kissing Sean O’Malley’s back in the middle of the fight at UFC 306 and was incredibly happy to have partied with Jon Jones in Las Vegas.
A champ-champ party
Moments after dominating O’Malley to become the new UFC bantamweight champion, “The Machine” kicked it out with “Bones.” In a short video clip Dvalishvili posted on social media, the pair could be seen having a great time in Sin City.
Check out Dvalishvil and Jones below:
Thank you to the 🐐! pic.twitter.com/Tifp8tFxpw
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) September 15, 2024
Merab’s kiss was a statement
Speaking to the media in his post-Noche UFC press conference, “The Machine” came clean about why he decided to kiss O’Malley multiple times while he was holding “Suga” by the head in a guillotine choke position towards the end of Round 2.
According to Dvalishvili, that antic wasn’t a way of disrespecting O’Malley but rather a profound statement implying that he was dominating the fight.
“I grabbed his neck and he had 10 seconds left,” Dvalishvili said with a grin on his face. “I know he can wait and he’s not gonna go to sleep or tap. I want to make just little fun of him. I don’t hate the guy, just make fun of him. But at same time, give him a little kiss to show them that I’m dominating, I controlled this fight, break you. That’s why I was kissing him. But I had too much fun there and I guess I looked at time control. But when I let go, he followed me and punched me in the back of my head. I started to protect myself again. I said [to the] referee again, ‘Referee, I’m sorry'”
Dvalishvili’s journey to UFC championship was remarkable, having gone undefeated in 10 consecutive fights prior. It is yet to be known if a quick rematch will take place but O’Malley has already been working on his takedown defense in the hope to fix the hole in his game that “The Machine” exposed.
Watch Merab’s full presser below:
