It was revealed yesterday that their fight will headline UFC 316, which takes place June 7 in Newark, S.C.
"I was satisfied with my performance in my previous fight, considering how I felt. It wasn't an ideal situation. I didn't win, but I don't think I should have won then. This rematch should have happened. That makes my rematch win even crazier. If I had beaten Merab in the first fight, he would have been considered just a tough fighter. But he beat me, and then he beat Umar Nurmagomedov.
I'm eternally grateful to Merab for beating me then - he made me not only a better fighter, but a better person. Defeat is a strange thing. Where there is hardship, there is opportunity for growth," MMA Junkie quoted O'Malley as saying.