2 months ago i was convinced that Merab would win this fight, but as the fight gets closer I am leaning more and more to Sean O'Malley. Merab isn't dangerous at all so for him to win, he needs to be perfect for 25 minutes, Sean on the other hand just needs one nice step off right hand like he landed against Aljo. Merab is a bit chinny, has a sticked cut over his eye and rumors are swirling he has staph. None of these are good things heading into your first title fight. I'm not a fan of Sean O'Malley's but I would be insane to not recognize his skillset. Sean is the pick here but no bet, because an in shape Merab could literally shoot 50 takedowns and rack up 20 minutes of control.

Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley is a very good striker with very real power and accuracy. He is athletic and pretty much does whatever he wants on his feet including a wide array of kicks and spinning techniques that actually land. We know he can be an absolute dog and we know he can fight a technical fight. His biggest asset is his pin point accuracy and his ability to use his reach well. He is coming off the title defense over Chito Vera where he avenged a loss and landed one of the loudest knees of all time.

Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili has great conditioning and is a non stop chain wrestler with solid striking. He times his takedowns incredibly well and even if he doesn't it doesn't matter because there's another shot right behind it. He averages an insane 6.4 takedowns per 15 minutes and his last loss was in 2018 to Ricky Simon who he still took down 6 times. His gas tank is insane and his willingness to stick to a wet blanket wrestling gameplan makes sure there are no surprises come fight night. He does have a bit of a suspect chin though and we saw that in his win over Henry Cejudo where he wasn't dropped, but was certainly wobbled.