Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson knows how to have a good time, but it appears it doesn’t involve the sport that made him famous and rich. The 58-year-old was spotted at the UFC 316, headlined by Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 in Newark, New Jersey. The event was in direct competition with a major boxing event that unfolded in Norfolk, Virginia.
Headlining Abdullha Mason vs. Jeremia Nakathila, the May 7th boxing event was surrounded by controversy. First, former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis missed weight on Friday, which resulted in the previously headlining fight being canceled. Later, the 26-year-old attacked Nahir Albright for beating his older brother, Kelvin, in a boxing match on the undercard. But Tyson appears to have missed all the drama.
Before the main event in UFC 316 kicked off, Tyson appeared in a social media post from ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili, who presumably linked up before the fight. “An honor to be in the same building as @miketyson,” Dvalishvili captioned the post. Regardless, after the event concluded, Tyson shared an image on his Instagram story from Prudential Center.
The picture showed Tyson sitting among the crowd, taking in the fights on the card. He captioned the post, “Always a good time at the UFC.” Reportedly, Kevin Holland defeated Vicente Luque via second-round submission, Patchy Mix succumbed to a decision loss at the hands of Mario Bautista, and Joe Pyfer produced a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum.
Meanwhile, Kayla Harrison squeezed out a second-round submission over Julianna Peña. And finally, the fight fans had been looking forward to—Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley. Merab, once again, defeated O’Malley via third-round submission, having dominated him in their first fight last year. Speaking of Merab, Dana White seems to have dropped a hint about his next opponent.
Merab Dvalishvili may face a familiar face
After dispatching a humbled O’Malley in UFC 316, ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili may soon face another familiar opponent. UFC CEO Dana White acknowledged the possibility of a rematch with Umar Nurmagomedov, whom Dvalishvili previously defeated at UFC 311. “The Umar rematch is interesting. It makes your legacy even better when you’ve ran through everybody twice,” White said during the post-fight press conference.
Credits: IMAGO
However, that rematch won’t happen immediately. When asked if it would come before a title defense against Cory Sandhagen, White simply replied, “No, I’m just saying,” indicating Sandhagen is likely next. The top bantamweight contender is fresh off a TKO win over Deiveson Figueiredo and has gone 4-1 in his last five fights.
As for Dvalishvili’s standing in the division, White didn’t hold back. “He’s definitely there and he will keep racking them up, I’m sure.”
That said, it appears Mike Tyson favors the UFC over boxing, at least when the choices were between the two events on May 7th. But what about you? Which event were you watching?
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