Merab Dvalishvili explains Tim Welch exchange, why he kissed Sean O'Malley at UFC 306

LAS VEGAS – UFC 306 was a stage for Merab Dvalishvili not only to display his championship-level skills, but also his showmanship, as well.

Moments after the opening bell that would mark the start of his five-round unanimous decision win Saturday over Sean O'Malley at Sphere, Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and the opposing corner were warned by referee Herb Dean about a verbal exchange – a rare occurrence.

“I’m a professional fighter,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “I’m focused and it never happens to me. I never pay attention to other corner. But Tim’s voice was very familiar because he was doing the same thing to (Aljamain Sterling). There’s the clip on social media everybody saw that. He was doing the same thing. He was doing already, disrespectful, ‘Merab, you’ve got to go.’

“He was talking sh*t to me. I told him, ‘Stop it.’ Nobody was telling him to stop. He just kept doing this. If you do the same thing in basketball or soccer, they will do disqualification for you. But I guess here, not. I told referee, ‘I’m sorry.’ … I said I’m sorry and after I guess he stopped it.”

Sean O'Malley’s coach is the reason Aljo got finished pic.twitter.com/Jw3rqBjLRm

— Elon Rakhmonov (Fan) (@ElonRakhmonov) May 8, 2024

But the unusual happenings didn’t stop there. At the end of Round 2, as Dvalishvili worked a choke on O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the waning seconds, he kissed then then-champion’s neck several times before letting go of the choke. Dvalishvili ended his grasp seconds before the round and let his guard down, opening up the opportunity for O’Malley to sock him in the head, which he did.

“I grabbed his neck and he had 10 seconds left,” Dvalishvili said. “I know he can wait and he’s not going to sleep or tap (to) this. 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. 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.'”

"What is going on?"

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— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2024

But extracurriculars aside, Dvalishvili left the arena with the UFC bantamweight championship and a win over O’Malley, whom he has tracked for over four years now.

The feeling that went through Dvalishvili’s body as Bruce Buffer announced him the victor was largely indescribable.

“The first emotion was crazy,” Dvalishvili said. “I couldn’t control myself. When Dana White wrapped the belt around me and then when I got up, I realized Dana was already left. I wanted to shake his hand and feel it. Now, I realize. Now, I realize. It feels great. I beat other guys, three former champions. Sean is four. It’s a normal day – a normal day, but I have a belt today. That’s it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.