Joe Rogan and Michael Bisping agree on Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili UFC 316 prediction: ‘That guy’s superhuman’

Joe Rogan, Michael Bisping and UFC stars are convinced Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili will play out one way.

O’Malley has said his title rematch with Dvalishvili at UFC 316 is ‘the biggest fight of his life’ as he aims to become a two-time champion in the promotion.

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Dvalishvili, meanwhile, is aiming to cement as status as the world’s best bantamweight, having defeated O’Malley to win the belt at UFC 306 in September.

‘The Machine’ has since retained his belt against Umar Nurmagomedov in January, and a second victory over O’Malley would place him among the greatest to ever do it at 135 lbs.

Dvalishvili vs O’Malley has left many in the MMA world divided, but the majority of the sport’s biggest personalities have it going one way.

“Sean is sniper like with his striking… he’s got to go forward and be the aggressor,” British MMA legend Bisping explained, before picking his winner come Saturday night.

“He’s got to hunt down Merab Dvalishvili. He’s got to lower his face and go on the attack, because if he stands there and waits, Merab’s going to have a field day.

“I like Sean and I’ve always been impressed with Sean based on my personal interactions.

“But I’m picking Merab… Sean might win the fight, but if you ask me where to put my money right now, I’m Merab Dvalishvili.”

While popular UFC commentator Joe Rogan did not directly pick a winner, he agreed with Bisping’s assessment of the fight.

“I do not know how ‘Suga’ Sean keeps that [Dvalishvili] off him,” Rogan said, discussing both men’s wrestling game that many believe will decide the fight.

Dvalishvili utilised his superior ground game to secure a unanimous decision victory when the pair last met at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

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“But I do like what he’s been doing,” Rogan continued. [O’Malley] got off social media, stopped smoking weed, just dialed the f*** in.

“Got his hip fixed, which was a big problem. There’s a lot of these fighters that take these fights because it’s a lot of money, it’s a big event, they don’t want to cancel, and they’ve got a significant injury.

“Sean could not wrestle. Imagine not being able to wrestle in camp and you’ve got to go face Merab.

“He’s a f***ing animal. That guy’s superhuman – there’s no one like him.

“The cardio that guy has is off the charts. It’s just off the charts. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“He doesn’t get tired. And he’s full gas, no breaks the entire fight. It’s just smothering, overwhelming people.

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“Even [Umar] Nurmagomedov, who’s also an animal – he couldn’t keep him off of him. This motherf****** is crazy.”

Australia’s first-ever UFC champion Robert Whittaker was on the same boat as Bisping and Rogan.

“I’m gonna back Merab again,” he said. “I love Sean, I love the way he works, but I backed Merab the first time and I want to see that story.

“I want to see that novel written and how far that horse can run… I want to see an absolute grindfest for 25 minutes.

“I spoke to Merab today and he seems locked in. He says he’s going to be looking for a finish in this one.

“I did think in their first fight he got a bit carried away with the show boating, a bit carried away with the taunting a little bit.

“I didn’t get that super high energy that we’re used to seeing with Merab, he understands the threat that Sean is going to bring to the table, and yeah I’m looking forward to this one for that.”

The pair’s first meeting was marred by fouls and unusual incidents as Dvalishivli kissed O’Malley en route to victory.

Former UFC lightweight Paul Felder is also backing Dvalishvili to win in New Jersey.

“How much of the wrestling could’ve changed in this amount of time?” he said.

“That’s the other thing to really look at. Merab had another fight with Umar where he was doing all that same kind of stuff.

“He’s fresher. I just think that’s a big gap to overcome. The way he was dominated in the wrestling department, and I don’t think that’s going to get fixed.

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“I love that he stopped smoking weed, I love that he’s more focused, I hope it’s more competitive and he lands some shots, but I think Merab is going to do a similar thing.”

UFC 316 witnesses two title fights as Julianna Pena defends her women’s bantamweight belt in the co-main event against Kayla Harrison.

The preliminary card is scheduled to start at 11pm UK time on Saturday, with the main card beginning at around 3am on Sunday morning before the headline clash at 5am.