UFC 306 headliner Merab Dvalishvili blew a gasket at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) last month in Las Vegas, storming the stands to confront a mouthy Sean O’Malley fan who continued to heckle “The Machine” during the inaugural jiu jitsu competition.
Just one of many “stupid” decisions made ahead of Noche UFC.
“So I was there watching jiu jitsu,” Dvalishvili told Kevin Iole. “One guy of course he was screaming from the [stands], ‘Sean is your daddy! Sean is your daddy!’ I turn around and I look to him in the eyes and I’m like ‘shut up,’ and then he was laughing at me. He was [pointing] at me and I I tell him ‘shut up.’ And and he [kept] going and I tell him ‘come here and say to my face.’ I gave him three warnings.”
That fan should be grateful considering the spectator who heckled Arman Tsarukyan got nuked on the first taunt.
“He was joking I guess, with one of his friends, and he disrespected me,” Dvalishvili continued. “Everybody respect me and this one guy, I’m not going to let him disrespect me. I told him to come and of course he’s not coming. He was laughing and I had to go. I tell him, ‘Yeah, tell me now.’ Of course like I don’t want to hurt him — but I did bully him.”
Sounds like another anti-bullying PSA is in order.
UFC 306 at The Sphere, part of Riyadh Season honoring Noche UFC, will take place this Sat. night (Sept. 14, 2024) at The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dvalishvili is currently ranked No. 1 at 135 pounds and could finally prove “Suga” is “not as good as he says he is.”