Merab Dvalishvili is clearly one of the best fighters in the world.

Dvalishvili, 34, was back in action in the main event of Saturday's UFC 316 event in Newark, New Jersey. The Georgian star was looking for his second bantamweight title defense, having won the division's belt with a decision win over Sean O'Malley last September and defended it with a win over Umar Nurmagomedov in January.

O'Malley was a dubious title challenger, to say the least. O'Malley is irrefutably one of the best bantamweights in the sport, but. Dvalishvili had already beaten O'Malley less than a year ago and in convincing fashion. He objectively did not deserve the opportunity. And still the UFC gave it to him. It's easy to understand why they did: They wanted him to win.

Why? Because the UFC is in the midst of a notable star deficit at the moment.

Dvalishvili was fresh off a win in January over Umar Nurmagomedov, but O'Malley, meanwhile, had not fought since losing to Dvalishvili last September.

The rushed title shot to O'Malley puts an ugly spotlight on what looks to be a dire lack of true stars in terms of charisma and mainstream appeal.

For example, Conor McGregor has seemingly lost touch with the sport completely, instead setting his sights on public office in his home country. UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones, meanwhile, has been completely dismissive of a potential fight with interim champion Tom Aspinall, and seems to be closing in on retirement himself. It gets worse. Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is riding back-to-back losses. Former light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira—until recently one of the biggest stars in the sport—is riding a loss to Magomed Ankalaev.

Outside of McGregor, Jones, Adesanya, and Pereira, O'Malley might be the biggest star on the UFC roster. That is why they gave him a shot at redemption against Dvalishvili at UFC 316.

Unfortunately for UFC brass, Dvalishvili again spoiled the party. The Georgian was just as dominant as he was the first time around. He was more dominant. This time, he finished his challenger by submission in round four, rather than winning by decision.

"I’m on top of the world," Dvalishvili said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. "I came from nothing."

"Please, believe in your dreams, and work on your dreams," he added. "Work, every day, repeat. No. 1 is wake up, training."

The question now is what's next for Dvalishvili. The champion has now won 13 straight fights. That streak includes wins over iconic fighters like Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and O'Malley. On paper, he is one of the top two or three mixed martial artists alive.

But that does not equate to star power. That begs the question: in an era when the UFC is dying for mainstream attractions, can they turn him into one?

His rivalry with O'Malley was their best shot. Had O'Malley won the pair's UFC 316 rematch, they'd be 1-1, which would undoubtedly beget a trilogy fight. However, Dvalishvili didn't just replicate his first win over the American, he surpassed it, as we've covered.

"I didn’t feel like it was gonna go like that," O'Malley said in his post-fight interview with Rogan. "Merab’s a motherf-cker."

The result of the UFC 316 main event effectively rules O'Malley out of the bantamweight title picture for the foreseeable future, and suggests Dvalishvili's next title defenses will come against another fighter. There's just one problem. He has already beaten the best of the best at bantamweight. That includes O'Malley (twice now), Petr Yan, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Henry Cejudo.

At this point, the most deserving bantamweight contender is the fan favorite Cory Sandhagen, who is just 1-1 in his last two, after a loss to Nurmagomedov and a win over Deiveson Figuiredo.

Dvalishvili, for his part, seems to be up for that matchup.

"Cory, I love you," the Georgian said after his UFC 316 win. "You’re the man. Let’s go."