Harrison, Dvalishvili celebrate as 135-pound champions at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Kayla Harrison had just added UFC gold to her championship fight collection — and hugged it out with President Donald Trump — and still clutched the title belt when she bumped into Merab Dvalishvili backstage.

Dvalishvili was on cloud nine — well, make it 13 to match his winning streak — after he successfully defended his 135-pound championship with a dominant performance in the main event of UFC 316.

Two bantamweight champions. One big party.

“Congratulations, champ! Let me raise your hand,” Dvalishvili told Harrison. “We are the champions!”

Dvalishvili then issued a quick pointer to Harrison — more used to wearing Olympic gold around her neck —- on how to hold the belt for a photo opp.

She best enjoy her time atop the division while she can — Harrison's presumed next challenger in Amanda Nunes stepping out of retirement and into the cage for a chance to get her belt back.

Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O’Malley in the third round and Harrison made 135-pound champion Julianna Peña quit with five seconds left in the second round in front of a crowd that included Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson on Saturday night at the Prudential Center.

Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O’Malley. O’Malley realized after the loss to truly be at his best — as a fighter, as a family man — he needed to make difficult lifestyle sacrifices to round himself into peak form.

The 30-year-old contender quit smoking marijuana among other bad habits and also ditched his trademark dyed hair. No more cornucopia of colors that turned his locks into rainbows or cotton candy tops. O’Malley sported brown, braided hair for the fight — leaving his fans to wear bright afro wigs in his honor.

New look, same result.

Dvalishvili — who had to duck a small railing collapse on his walk out that almost had fans spill onto the floor — ran his record to 20-4 and sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the 17,343 fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory, tied for fourth longest in UFC history.

“I’m on top of the world!,” he said inside the cage.

That made the bantamweight champs 1 for 2 on the night.

Harrison, who said she struggled so hard with cutting weight to 135 pounds that she feared just how she would make it in one piece ahead of the weigh in, continued to move up the list in just a short time as one of the great female fighters in MMA history.

She's used to major victories in the spotlight.

No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain’s Gemma Gibbons to win the women’s 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018.

The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot.

She needed just three UFC fights to become a champion.

Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration as Ivanka Trump stood and snapped photos of the moment. Harrison then called out Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner.

“I definitely want to fight Amanda. She's the greatest of all time,” Harrison said. “I want to be the greatest of all time.”

Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked in and the two went face-to-face. Nunes, who is set for induction this summer into the UFC Hall of Fame, said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt.

The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown.

“We’re going to bring women’s MMA to a whole new level,” Harrison said.

The moment had fans roaring in delight much as they did hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass.”

Harrison took a page from her judo career and bowed to Trump as a sign of respect before the bout and hugged him after the win. She received a congratulatory kiss on the cheek from Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage.

It wasn’t the only nod to Trump’s latest appearance at a UFC fight.

UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview.

Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision.

“We’ve got the President of the United States! We’ve got Mike Tyson,” Pyfer bellowed inside the cage.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili, left, rushes to greet President Donald Trump after a bantamweight title bout at against Sean O'Malley during the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

President Donald Trump congratulates Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili, after he won his bantamweight title bout against Sean O'Malley, during the UFC-316 mixed martial arts event, at the Prudential Center, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Manuel Ceneta)

Georgia's Merab Dvalishvili, left, celebrates after winning his bantamweight title bout against Sean O'Malley at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Joe Pyfer, right, punches Kelvin Gastelum during the first round of a middleweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Mario Bautista, right, punches Patchy Mix during the second round of a light bantamweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Joe Pyfer, right, punches Kelvin Gastelumduring the first round of a middleweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Saturday, June 7, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kayla Harrison, right, grapples with with Julianna Peña during the first round of a women's bantamweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kayla Harrison, right, exchanges punches with Julianna Peña during the second round of a women's bantamweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)