Ray Longo, a longtime coach for UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili, has hit back at some comments recently made by Dana White.
Dvalishvili is set to ride a 10-fight winning run into his first title challenge this weekend, which comes in the main event of the highly anticipated Noche UFC 306 pay-per-view at the Sphere.
While the overall card has had its critics, the headliner between the Georgian contender and reigning champion Sean O’Malley has created significant intrigue and drawn a variety of predictions.
There was a time a few weeks ago, however, when some feared for the matchup’s place on the card after Dvalishvili revealed a deep-looking cut sustained in training on social media.
“The Machine’s” decision to publicly display the cut caused debate, with the UFC CEO being among those unimpressed by Dvalishvili’s antics.
“The whole world knows about Merab’s cut. He posted it. Our guys are so dumb, it’s next-level unbelievable,” White said during a DWCS press conference. “All the stuff I talk about boxing, what I will give boxing, is when something happens in a camp, man, let me tell you what, it does not leak. Our guys can’t f*cking wait to throw it up on social media.
“It’s a small cut. It’s no big deal. But obviously, it needed to be posted,” White continued. “Why the f*ck would you want him to know that? It is next-level stupid. Some of these guys are so stupid it’s mind-boggling. It’s unbelievable.”
After Aljamain Sterling leapt to Dvalishvili’s defense and branded White’s reaction “over the top,” coach Longo has now shared a similar sentiment.
Longo On Dvalishvili’s Cut: ‘One Thing Dana Was Really Wrong On…’
During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Longo looked ahead to Dvalishvili’s long-awaited first opportunity to reach the mountaintop in the UFC.
The veteran trainer was asked about the cut suffered by the Georgian in training, which became one of the hottest topics in the lead-up to Noche UFC 306.
Longo dismissed the importance of revealing such a blemish to an opponent like O’Malley, and he strongly pushed back on White’s reaction to “The Machine’s” social media activity.
“I’m not the social media guy, so I don’t get it. But you have to expect this sh*t with these kids today. They film everything. They film tying their shoelaces,” Longo said. “He’s been a camera guy since the second I met him. He’s crazy with the camera. But look, if it was a knee injury, I’d say that would be a problem. Now you’re gonna target something. (But) he’s gonna get cut in the fight. It is what it is. He’s gonna get punched in the face. … A cut’s a cut, and if it opens up, I don’t think it’ll have an impact on the fight.
“One thing Dana was really wrong on was he called him a dummy. He’s far from a dummy,” Longo continued. “(Dvalishvili’s) very intelligent. He’s a humble guy, got humble beginnings. He’s fighting for his country. There’s certain guys that that type of sh*t means a lot. He’s one of them. He’s (O’Malley’s) gonna have to beat this kid dead, that I guarantee you.”
Dvalishvili will look to display a different type of intelligence come fight night in Las Vegas on Saturday by using his fight IQ to secure a memorable title crowning inside the Sphere.
His opportunity to do so comes in the final fight of the 10-fight lineup, on which he’ll mark the second championship challenger to make the walk after Valentina Shevchenko’s attempt to achieve two-time status at Alexa Grasso’s expense.
While “The Machine” trains in Las Vegas with John Wood these days, he’s still expected to have the likes of coach Longo and teammate Sterling in his corner this weekend.
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