Dana White thinks Merab Dvalishvili is just f*cking with him now.
Last week, White went off on Dvalishvili after the No. 1 ranked bantamweight contender posted a video online revealing a cut he sustained while training for his upcoming title tilt with reigning 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley. White called the decision “next-level stupid” in a scathing rant aimed at the UFC 306 headliner.
“Why the f*ck would you want [O’Malley] to know that?! It is next-level stupid,” White said during a media scrum following the August 20 episode of Contender Series. “Some of these guys are so stupid it’s mind-boggling. It’s unbelievable.”
Not long after White’s comments went viral, Dvalishvili posted a video of him cutting and removing the stitches himself with a pair of common household scissors.
While referencing a rather gnarly cut sustained by DWCS fighter Michael Aswell earlier in the night, White suggested that he could take a page out of Dvalishvili’s book by getting “some big ass scissors and take the stitches out himself.” Clearly referring to the Georgian, media members took the bait and asked White for his thoughts on Dvalishvili’s latest video.
“Isn’t he awesome? I think he’s just f*cking with me now, to be honest with you,” White said with a smirk. “Have you ever seen the scissors they take stitches out with? Their tiny and they have that thing on their so you don’t cut yourself. They can slide them up under the stitches and this dude had f*cking bush shears that he was using…that you trim your f*cking bushes with. Whatever, good for him.”
White also confirmed that he has not spoken with Dvalishvili since ‘The Machine’ first revealed his cut to the world on social media.
Merab Dvalishvili’s Cut Shouldn’t Impact His Fight with O’Malley
Fortunately, it appears that Merab Dvalishvili’s “small cut” will not affect his ability to headline Noche UFC in a few short weeks.
Going into his first title opportunity, ‘The Machine’ is riding a 10-fight win streak that features noteworthy victories against the likes of Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo.
As for his opponent, it will be O’Malley’s second time defending the bantamweight belt after handing Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera a five-round shellacking during their UFC 299 headliner last March.