D͏ana ͏Whi͏t͏e and co͏mpany captiva͏t͏ed ev͏ery͏one with͏ t͏h͏ei͏r ͏s͏t͏ate-of-͏the-͏art UF͏C Noche͏ event.͏ However, a rather interesting thing happened when Merab Dvalishvili was fighting against Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight gold. At the closing moment of the second round, ‘The Machine’ had O’Malley pushed onto the cage, and out of nowhere, he kissed his back multiple times to mock him before the bell run.

‘The Machine’ humiliates his opponent inside the Octagon and this was just another tactic by the new bantamweight champion to get inside ‘Suga’s head. And it seemed to have worked as O’Malley reacted seemingly upset. But was it permitted? Did the new bantamweight champion break any rules of the MMA guidelines as he kissed the fighter inside the Octagon? Let’s find out.

Is kissing illegal in MMA?

No one has ever accomplished this antic inside the Octagon other than Merab Dvalishvili in the history of the sport. It was such an incivility by the title challenger that Sean O’Malley immediately threw a punch in Dvalishvili’s direction. Herb Dean only gave a slight warning to ‘The Machine’ after the hubbub but was it really such a small thing? Well, if we go through the rulebooks of the MMA, then we can have some answers.

According to the rules of MMA, kissing is not illegal in MMA or UFC but one might understand that no law has been made for this considering that it had never happened before this fight. The only rule that should be kept in mind while committing such an act is that while kissing one should not bite or spit on the opponent.

In addition to that, if a ͏U͏F͏C fighter were͏ to kiss ͏a͏n opp͏onent during a fight, it wouldn’t be ͏considered il͏lega͏l͏ as long͏ as ͏no ͏saliva͏ is t͏r͏ansf͏e͏rred (like in spitting). And lic͏kin͏g would b͏e against͏ th͏e ru͏les͏͏ s͏ince͏͏ it ͏in͏v͏olves sal͏iv͏a ͏leavi͏ng the mouth, making it͏͏ prohibited in͏ UFC/MMA. Hence, what Dvalishvili did is not necessarily forbidden, but may be scorned upon.

It was a rather unpleasant scene for the fans, albeit many found it hilarious, but why did Dvalishvili do that? Let us find out.

Merab Dvalishvili gives a bizarre explanation for his kissing incident

After the high-intensity fight, Merab Dvalishvili was asked at the post-fight press conference about the kiss, to which the new champion said that he wanted to finish Sean O’Malley by submission but he knew that he wouldn’t be fruitful considering that the bell was about to ring so instead he went for the kiss. “Yeah, so I was — I grab his neck. And then, he like, he has a ten seconds left,” said Dvalishvili.

He further counted how this was all but a psychological tryst to assert his dominance: “And I know he can wait, and he’s not going to go sleep or tap this. And I want to make just a little fun of him, you know, and make him just. You know, I don’t hate the guy; just make fun of him, but same time, give a little kiss to show that I dominate, I control this fight, I break you, you know. That’s why I was kissing.

Coming back to the ethical side of things, it seems that The Mchine is well aware that he might have crossed a line, citing, “But I had too much fun there. And I guess I lose the time control. But when I let go, and I guess, I don’t know, like, he followed me and he punched me back on my head. And I started protect myself again. And that was like, I said, referee again, ‘I’m sorry. Referee, I’m sorry.'”

Regardless, what are your thoughts on the headlining event of the night? State your thoughts in the comments below.