The headlining fight at UFC 306 featuring Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili started typically but quickly veered into unusual territory. Dvalishvili began shouting at O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, prompting a brief interruption in the fight. Welch was surprised by Dvalishvili’s actions, as later pointed out by the referee that it goes against the regulations for a coach to call out the opponent’s name during a fight.
Dvalishvili emerged victorious with a unanimous decision, clinching the UFC bantamweight title. The bout was marked by more peculiar incidents, such as Dvalishvili kissing O’Malley’s back while in a front face lock and confusion over the timing of O’Malley’s punches towards the end of the round.
Despite the strange turn of events, O’Malley intends to take a break from fighting following his defeat and contemplate the unusual happenings during the match.
