Merab Dvalishvili caught some heat from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, earlier this week (Tues., Aug. 29, 2023) for staying loyal to his best friend and teammate, Aljamain Sterling.
It’s been no secret that top-ranked Bantamweight contenders, Dvalishvili and Sterling, have had no desire to ever collide inside the Octagon. Therefore, leading to a tricky situation atop the division and sorting out title shots. Ultimately, Dvalishvili (16-4) has had a case for a while now as he currently rides a record-setting nine-fight winning streak in the division.
Despite the words exchanged in the past, Sean O’Malley — the man to dethrone Sterling (watch highlights) — agrees with his potential future foe.
“I mean, I get it, I wouldn’t want to fight a teammate. But, I’m also rich and successful. If I wasn’t yet, f—k, do you? I don’t know, it’s a tricky situation,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.
“It’s very realistic that these guys are going to rise to the top, Kyler [Phillips], Mario [Bautista], Marcus [McGhee], these guys are f—king dangerous, dangerous guys. Yeah, I don’t know, I guess that’s something we have to decide when we get there. I wouldn’t want to fight ‘em, I don’t want to fight a teammate.”
O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili is still a possibility as “Sugar’s” first title defense. However, Dvalishvili is on the mend from a recent hand surgery and has noted he’ll need about four to six more months before he’s fully recovered. “The Machine” has said he’s willing to return earlier and fight through the pain if granted his long-awaited shot at UFC gold.
Meanwhile, Marlon “Chito” Vera sits at the No. 6 spot in the official UFC rankings as the most likely next title challenger due to his history with the new champion. Vera scored a first round technical knockout win over O’Malley in 2020, the only loss of O’Malley’s 19-fight career (17-1, 1 no contest).