Merab Dvalishvili has been on a dominant run in the Bantamweight division of the UFC that led him to the title.
'The Machine' has had such a tear that a victory in the main event of UFC 316 Dvalishvili will be seen at Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov in the history books with 13 consecutive victories.
While Sean O'Malley will stop that streak on June 7, the champion has been at the top for so long that some will have forgotten that he has lost his first two fights in the Octagon.
The last defeat of Dvalishvili was a controversial and bizarre where he was submitted by Ricky Simon in April 2018 and claimed that he eliminated himself when he shot for a Takedown.
He turned his career in a wonderful way, while the last man who defeated him recently came back on track with a knockout victory that Michael Bisping Verbijsters.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Ricky Simon offers keys for the victory for the sight of Merab Dvalishvili who defeated him in 2018
Ricky Simon stopped Merab Dvalishvili during his UFC debut before his first win in the Bantamweight Division ended by Urijah Faber in just 46 seconds.
The 32-year-old is now 9-5 in the Octagon who recently broken a three-field slip with his stunning knockout about Javid Basharat in February.
After his victory in Seattle, Simon was asked during his press conference after the fight to give his opinion on the title line of Dvalishvili.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
He showed an enormous amount of respect for his former opponent and suggested that they could share the Octagon along the line for the second time.
“I think he's a great champion. That fight was great. He certainly took it over with the Showmanship and his grit. He has that X factor, so it's great to see him doing so well. The night we fought, we both looked at each other and I know we were both like that:” Oh, we might see each other again soon. “
When Simon was asked, as the last man to beat the current champion, about what the most important keys are to victory against an opponent such as Dvalishvili, the Bantam weight gave the following insight.
“He turns on all the wrestling attempts, whether he will get it or not, you just have to be ready for that. You have to have the cardio to tolerate those attempts and then you must have the opportunity to get up, what I have.”
Sean O'Malley has placed a lot of emphasis on removal and struggling for his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili
Fortunately for Sean O'Malley, Ricky Simon's advice seems to be precise where the former champion at the UFC 316 worked.
'Suga' was brought down 6 times in their first meeting at UFC 306 last September, in which O'Malley recently told Daniel Cormier about how his Ribblessel influenced this side of his game.
“The hip did not play a role in the fight as the camp. To fight someone like Merab, you have to prepare well. You have to struggle. You have to struggle and we didn't do that at all. Hardly any fight.
With the injuries of O'Malley now clarified, he hopes that he can replicate part of the success that he had this time in the last round of the leap.