Merab Dvalishvili believes his next fight should be for the title.
Bantamweight Division Politics
The #2 UFC Bantamweight contender is currently riding an impressive 9-fight win streak. However, there’s no guarantee that Dvalishvili will get the next title shot since the newly crowned champ Sean O’Malley is instead setting his sights on a rematch with Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
Of course, Vera isn’t the only roadblock between ‘The Machine’ and his long-awaited title fight. For Dvalishvili, it seems as though his unwillingness to fight teammate and friend Aljamain Sterling may also be a factor as UFC President Dana White bluntly pointed out recently.
“This is not about friendship. It’s about finding out who the best in the world is,” White said at a post-fight presser on Tuesday. “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.”
Dvalishvili Responds To Dana White
Hearing the criticism, Dvalishvili doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with the UFC boss.
“I don’t understand what’s the problem,” Dvalishvili said of Dana White’s comments on ‘The Menace and The Man Show’. “Aljamain Sterling is my friend, my teammate, my sparring partner, and we’ve been pushing each other. We’ve been helping each other. We’re training together. Before, why we have to fight each other?
“There was so many other guys that we can fight. Then, it was the point that Aljo was champion, I was number one contender, but I was still fighting other guys and Aljo had some other opponents. Then, Aljo was gonna change the weight class and everything was good. We was just trying to not [fight].”
Avenging Aljamain Sterling’s Loss
When it comes to Sean O’Malley’s next opponent, Dvalishvili remains consistent in his belief that he or Sterling should fight ‘Suga’ next— not Chito Vera, who is coming off one win at UFC 292.
If Dvalishvili is given the title fight, he’d love to get ‘revenge’ for the fallen ‘Funkmaster’, who O’Malley TKO’ed in Boston.
“This is perfect for marketing,” Dvalishvili said of the potential fight with O’Malley. “There is so many ways that they can, they can promote the fight. I’m Aljo’s friend, I stole O’Malley’s jacket. I’ve been calling him out since 2018. UFC should give Aljo rematch or me.
“O’Malley’s trying to fight Chito Vera. Who’s Chito Vera? He’s ranked six. He doesn’t deserve a title shot.”
Dvalishvili: ‘Sean Must Fight Me’ If He Wants Respect
The Georgian contender explains why he (or Sterling) should be fighting ‘Suga’ instead of his rival Vera.
“Sean should fight me,” Dvalishvili continued. “I know Sean was fighting guys outside of top 15, but now he’s the champion, new champion, new king and Sean must fight me. I’m real competition. I’m a real contender. I have a 9-fight win streak. If Sean wants respect, then I’m the next guy to fight him or they have to make Aljamain Sterling fight him.”
