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The first weekend of June promised carnage on every continent; by sunrise Monday it had reshaped four different title pictures and flooded social feeds with knock-outs worth a hundred replays. From Newark’s thunderous Octagon to Bangkok’s twin Muay Thai marathons, plus roller-coaster nights in Virginia, Ipswich, Verona and Albuquerque, here’s the complete story of a 72-hour whirlwind.
A war of attrition becomes a breakthrough moment for “The Machine.”
Sean O’Malley entered the cage all swagger, his signature rainbow hair freshly dyed and his footwork as fluid as ever in the opening seconds. But that bounce evaporated within minutes. Merab Dvalishvili’s relentless forward pressure didn’t just force O’Malley onto the back foot—it yanked him into the undertow.
From the first bell, Merab’s tempo was smothering. He didn’t wait for an opening—he created it. Inside the first 90 seconds, he had already secured his first takedown, slamming O’Malley to the mat with a double-leg that shook the Prudential Center floor. What followed was vintage Dvalishvili: ground-and-pound in short bursts, constant positional advancements, and a psychological grind that wore down even one of the division’s most elusive strikers.
O’Malley fought hard to create separation, and he landed his best strike of the night—a sharp right cross—in round two, stunning Merab briefly. But the Georgian’s recovery was instant. He shot in again, scooped the legs, and kept the pressure on with mat returns and matting strikes, preventing O’Malley from ever resetting.
By round three, O’Malley’s legs looked heavy, his timing half a beat behind. Merab sensed it. He closed distance with a lunging hook, ducked under a desperate counter, secured the back standing, and dragged “Sugar Sean” down one last time. This time, he didn’t just control—he finished. Sliding his forearm under the chin with textbook precision, Dvalishvili locked in the rear-naked choke. O’Malley tapped with 18 seconds left in the round, his reign as fan-favorite on pause, and Merab had his first UFC finish in nearly four years.
As he ran the Georgian flag around the cage, Merab’s message was clear: "No more questions. I’m the king now. And Umar... you’re next."
There were doubts. Could Kayla Harrison truly make 135? Would the cut drain her Olympic horsepower? Could she handle the chaos of a fighter like Julianna Peña?
Those doubts lasted less than five minutes.
From the opening exchange, it was clear Harrison had preserved her strength. She caught Peña’s first right hand, drove through with a judo toss, and landed directly in side control—a position that instantly neutralized Peña’s scrappy style. For the next three minutes, Kayla put on a clinic in top pressure, pinning Peña’s hips and hammering down elbows.
Peña, to her credit, escaped to her feet late in round one and tried to rally, landing a few short punches in the clinch. But Harrison’s body lock reasserted itself before any momentum could build.
Round two was more of the same—only more vicious. Harrison grounded Peña early and began working to isolate the far-side arm. Peña tried to buck and shrimp, but Harrison patiently floated to north-south, then back to side control before trapping the left arm in a tight kimura grip. With seconds left in the round, she cranked. Peña grimaced, then tapped.
Harrison rose calmly, handed her mouthguard to the referee, and pointed at the cage door. Through it stepped Amanda Nunes, grinning.
It was the moment fans had speculated about for two years. The greatest female fighter of all time, face-to-face with the PFL’s most dominant champion, now a UFC bantamweight wrecking machine.
The undercard delivered equal mayhem. Joe Pyfer caved Kelvin Gastelum’s ribs with hooks for a lopsided decision; Kevin Holland smeared Vicente Luque with a standing D’Arce while cracking jokes mid-choke; and Mario Bautista danced around submission ace Patchy Mix to halt the latter’s six-fight strangulation spree. By the time the smoke cleared, three divisions wore a brand-new shape.
Seventeen-second vendettas and a fifty-two-second head-kick heard across Thailand.
Friday’s lunchtime show was meant to be a proving ground; it became a launch pad. Former Rajadamnern king Petsukumvit Boi Bangna bludgeoned Silviu Vitez with knees and elbows for a round-two stoppage and a six-figure contract, but it was 22-year-old Michael Baranov who hijacked the highlight reels—an inside slip, a bolt-straight right hand, and Argentina’s Angel Bauza was stiff before he hit the floor, just seventeen seconds into round two.
Bangkok’s second show of the weekend didn’t just match the hype generated by Friday Fights 111—it cranked the voltage even higher. A flurry of upsets, statement performances, and a 52-second walk-off KO reshuffled the flyweight and strawweight title pictures overnight. Here’s the expanded play-by-play.
Highs, lows and one very expensive weigh-in.
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