- Dana White is tolerating Merab Dvalishvili reasoning behind possibly rejecting a title shot
- The UFC boss insists he wouldn’t hesitate cutting “The Machine” if he chose friendship over competition
Now that the UFC 292 smoke has settled, it has become apparent that No. 2 bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili could be the favorite to fight for the title against Sean O’Malley. However, Dvalishvili feels his friend and Serra-Longo Fight Team teammate Aljamain Sterling should first get a rematch and he is willing to decline the title shot if he has to. As expected, UFC president Dana White is not pleased.
The UFC is not a place for Friendship
Speaking to his Dana White’s Contender Series’ post-event presser, White fired a blunt warning to Dvalishvili, threatening to cut “The Machine” if he insists of turning down a title shot for Sterling.
“Everybody in this room and everybody that watches this video knows how I feel about this sh*t. I hate it,” White exclaimed. “Why did you even get into this sport if that’s your mentality in the way that you think? ‘I don’t even want the title, I don’t want even the championship, we’re friends, we’re this, we’re that.’ You can be friends with everybody in this business. There’s a lot of nice people in this business. A lot of good people. [But] This is not about friendship. It’s about finding out who the best in the world is.
“And if you don’t want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you. You should be somewhere else. There’s plenty of places to fight where they don’t give a sh*t what you do. Doesn’t work here,” the UFC boss added.
O’Malley’s Options
Merab is coming off a sensational nine-fight winning streak and is a no-brainer title fight candidate. On the other hand, Sterling insists he has earned the right to get an immediate rematch.
As for O’Malley, the reigning champ said he is currently weighing his options and wants everybody to stop claiming they are the rightful challenger.
