Move over Dr. Quinn, Dr. Nick, and Doogie Howser. We’ve got a new M.D. running things and his name is Dr. Merab.
Riding a nine-fight win streak, Merab Dvalishvili will head to Anaheim, California on February 17 looking for his 10th win in a row and a long-awaited shot at the bantamweight world championship. Standing in his way at UFC 298 will be former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo. ‘Triple C’ enters the bout determined to bounce back from a failed attempt to dethrone then-champion Aljamain Sterling in May.
Ahead of their potential title eliminator, Dvalishvili delivered a clever bit of trash talk via a post on Instagram. Morphing into a whole new persona, Dr. Merab, ‘The Machine’ poked fun at the bantamweight division’s top 10 while suggesting that his next opponent is suffering from an accute case of brain damage.
“Hey Henry Cejudo, what are you talking about me? Don’t think I forgot about you,” Dvalishvili said on social media. “Brain damage. We have a result from hospital. Henry Cejudo has longer tongue than himself. But no worries, Dr. Merab will fix this problem on February 17th. See you there Henry!”
Multiple fighters, including Aljamain Sterling, were highly entertained by Dvalishvili’s hilarious dig at Cejudo and much of the 135-pound weight class. “Lmaooo brooo! This is too good!” Sterling commented. Paulo Costa posted a series of laughing-out-loud emojis in response while MMA interviewer Nina Drama wrote, “Merab is the FUNNIEST fighter in all of MMA.
Merab Dvalishvili currently sits in the No. 2 spot in the bantamweight rankings, one above Henry Cejudo. With a win over ‘Triple C,’ he will likely punch his ticket to a title fight with the winner of UFC 299’s title clash between defending champ Sean O’Malley and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.