Merab Dvalishvili admits he finds UFC 316 opponent Sean O’Malley ‘cute’ and ‘funny’

Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley traded a ton of pre-fight trash talk before their first meeting in the UFC. Apparently, it wasn’t serious — at least, not from the former’s perspective.

Dvalishvili and O’Malley first met at UFC 306 at the Las Vegas Sphere last September. Dvalishvili was challenging O’Malley for the bantamweight belt, and ultimately succeeded on his mission, dominating the five-round fight with his wrestling to a clear-cut unanimous decision win.

While O’Malley has not won a fight since, he has been granted a rematch with the champ Dvalishvili at UFC 316.

The card is slated for June 7. There’s certainly time for things to heat up between now and then, but so far, the pair have been much more cordial than they were before their first meeting.

Soon after spending some time hanging out with O’Malley in a hot tub, Dvalishvili appear on the Helwani Show, where he paid his opponent some surprising compliments.

Merab Dvalishvili says he likes Sean O’Malley and thinks he’s cute 😭😭

“He’s funny, he’s cute, and he’s a good fighter too.”

🎥 @arielhelwani #UFC316pic.twitter.com/iLYDS8iu8X

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 8, 2025

“That was so cool,” Dvalishvili said of his jacuzzi session with his UFC 316 rival. “All positive. I always liked the guy. I don’t follow many 135’ers on Instagram, and I follow him. He’s funny, he’s cute, and he’s a good fighter too.”

Merab Dvalishvili has fought once since winning the belt from Sean O’Malley last year. It happened at UFC 311 in January, when he handed Umar Nurmagomedov his first professional loss with a unanimous decision. He is also riding wins over legends and former champs like Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo. He’s considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA right now.