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Merab Dvalishvili has addressed the kissing sequence that transpired during his high-stakes championship clash against longtime foe 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley. Dvalishvili appears to have delivered a rather eccentric and lighthearted explanation for it.
The Georgian-American fought America's O'Malley for the latter's UFC bantamweight championship in the headlining match of UFC 306 (aka Riyadh Season Noche UFC) on Sept. 14, 2024.
Their fight started chaotically and ended with Dvalishvili securing a unanimous decision victory to become the new UFC bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili could potentially defend his belt against undefeated Dagestani MMA stalwart Umar Nurmagomedov next.
In the closing moments of their fight's second round, Dvalishvili had a hold of O'Malley's neck while the latter was trapped against the fence. 'The Machine' proceeded to kiss O'Malley's back multiple times.
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Apparently, Referee Herb Dean warned Dvalishvili, after which the latter let go of O'Malley and walked away. 'Sugar' got up and tried to hit Dvalishvili, who seemed ready to engage again. Nevertheless, Dean separated them as the round ended.
Watch the kissing sequence below:
During the UFC 306 post-fight press conference, Merab Dvalishvili was asked about why he chose to kiss Sean O'Malley during their fight. Dvalishvili issued a seemingly jestful response. He suggested that attempting a choke in the waning moments of the round wouldn't have been fruitful, which is why he opted to kiss him instead.
Indicating he was simply being funny and asserting his dominance, 'The Machine' stated:
"Yeah, so I was -- I grab his neck. And then, he like, he has a ten seconds left. And I know he can wait, and he's not going to go sleep or tap this. And I want to make just a little fun of him, you know, and make him just. You know, I don't hate the guy; just make fun of him, but same time, give a little kiss to show that I dominate, I control this fight, I break you, you know. That's why I was kissing."
He added:
"But I had too much fun there. And I guess I lose the time control. But when I let go, and I guess, I don't know, like, he followed me and he punched me back on my head. And I started protect myself again. And that was like, I said, referee again, 'I'm sorry. Referee, I'm sorry.'"
Check out Dvalishvili's comments below (2:40):
Merab Dvalishvili's comments about kissing Henry Cejudo during their UFC 298 fight
The Sean O'Malley matchup wasn't the only fight in which Merab Dvalishvili kissed his opponent. Dvalishvili's previous fight, a unanimous decision victory against former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry 'Triple C' Cejudo at UFC 298 (Feb. 2024), also saw him kiss his opponent's back toward the end of round two.
Watch the kiss sequence below (10:12):
ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi subsequently asked Merab Dvalishvili about it. Dvalishvili recalled having a lot of fun in the fight and enjoying the moment, adding that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in his corner trying to guide him.
'The Machine' recounted that despite grasping Cejudo's neck, he lacked time to complete a choke, which is why he jestingly kissed him. Dvalishvili laughingly noted:
"I heard the time was short. And I just kiss him, you know; of course, just a little fun."
Watch Merab Dvalishvili's assessment below (0:46):
