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UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended his title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 on Saturday. But Dvalishvili almost didn’t make it to the octagon to defend his title after his nearly crushed by a falling barricade during his walkout.
Newly released video from the event, which took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, shows Dvalashvili interacting with fans while walking toward the cage. At one point, a swell of fans rushes to try to high-five the fighter, causing the metal barricade, and several fans, to come crashing down to the floor below.
Merab Dvalishvili Defends Title At UFC 316 After Nearly Getting Crushed By Barricade
Had it landed on Dvalishvili, the barricade could have undoubtedly caused serious injury and very well would have led to the UFC having to cancel the fight. Thankfully, he was able to quickly step back and avoid the incident while continuing his walk to the cage. The UFC did not state whether or not fans were injured in the incident, but it’s hard to imagine a world where they weren’t.
Dvalishvili not only avoided harm, but he was able to center himself quickly enough to focus on the fight with O’Malley. He won the first two rounds on two out of three judges’ scorecards before submitting O’Malley in the third round. It marked his second victory over O’Malley, whom he beat at UFC 306 in September of last year to win the belt.
“I wanted to do way better than first time,” Dvalishvili said on Monday’s episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “When I was fighting Sean the first time for the belt, I wanted to just win the belt and take less risk because I know I was winning. I sometimes don’t risk it because I just want to win. I wanted to do better [at UFC 316] because I was facing the same opponent.
“Also, Sean made so many excuses, and I was thinking that he really may become a different person. He was way better than the first time, but because it was a rematch, I was supposed to do something extra.”
Something tells us he didn’t plan on having to dodge a “Final Destination” style near-death scenario as part of the “something extra.”