Tag: Merab Dvalishvili

Noche UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Press Conference Highlights & Faceoffs

We’re deep into Noche UFC (UFC 306) fight week, meaning it was recently time for the fighters set to be in action on September 14 to take to the stage and answer some questions. The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the main attraction of the […]

Continue Reading Noche UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Press Conference Highlights & Faceoffs at MMA News.

We’re deep into Noche UFC (UFC 306) fight week, meaning it was recently time for the fighters set to be in action on September 14 to take to the stage and answer some questions.

The MMA leader’s latest numbered event takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the main attraction of the Mexican Independence Day celebration will see UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley put his belt on the line against Merab Dvalishvili.

Setting the stage for the headliners will be another title fight, with reigning flyweight queen Alexa Grasso looking to record a second victory over the great Valentina Shevchenko in their trilogy, which comes after their rematch ended in a draw at last year’s inaugural Noche UFC event.

Also on pay-per-view will be #12-ranked featherweight Diego Lopes, who will shoot for the top five in a rearranged showdown with former two-time title challenger Brian Ortega.

As is customary during major fight weeks, the athletes took to the stage on Thursday for the pre-fight press conference. The Noche UFC edition saw every fighter set to make the walk inside the Sphere in two days’ time with mic in hand.

Check out a replay of the presser below via the UFC’s official YouTube channel, followed by all the highlights and faceoffs.

Noche UFC 306 Pre-Fight Press Conference Stream

Noche UFC 306 Press Conference Highlights

Noche UFC 306 Press Conference Faceoffs

Continue Reading Noche UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili Press Conference Highlights & Faceoffs at MMA News.

‘Too Much Social Media’ – Belal Muhammad Changes His Mind On Noche UFC 306 Main Event Pick

Belal Muhammad recently had a change of heart regarding his pick for the Noche UFC 306 main event. O’Malley is poised to put his UFC bantamweight title on the line against Dvalishvili in the headlining bout of one of the year’s most anticipated pay-per-view events, set to take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, […]

Continue Reading ‘Too Much Social Media’ – Belal Muhammad Changes His Mind On Noche UFC 306 Main Event Pick at MMA News.

Belal Muhammad recently had a change of heart regarding his pick for the Noche UFC 306 main event.

O’Malley is poised to put his UFC bantamweight title on the line against Dvalishvili in the headlining bout of one of the year’s most anticipated pay-per-view events, set to take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday.

“Suga” enters this fight fresh off his dominant first title defense, where he redeemed his only UFC loss by decisively defeating former rival Marlon Vera at UFC 299 this past March. O’Malley captured the 135-pound crown with a second-round TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023.

Meanwhile, Dvalishvili rides an impressive 10-fight win streak, boasting wins over former champions such as Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. “The Machine” had been campaigning for a title shot for some time, and his wish was finally granted after a commanding victory over former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 this past February.

Initially, the defending champion was labeled as the underdog against Dvalishvili, but as fight week unfolded, the tides shifted, and O’Malley emerged as the betting favorite for various reasons.

Likewise, “Remember the Name” has also experienced a shift in perspective, now leaning towards a different pick for the upcoming showdown…

Muhammad Revises His Pick for O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili Showdown

During a recent interview with MMA legend Demetrious Johnson, Muhammad weighed in on the O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili title fight. The newly crowned UFC welterweight champion admitted that just a month ago, he believed “The Machine” had what it took to dethrone O’Malley.

However, after some reflection, he’s now leaning towards “Suga”, confident that O’Malley’s precise, well-timed striking will be enough to counter Dvalishvili’s relentless wrestling and secure his title defense.

“If you’d have asked me maybe a month ago, I would say Merab’s gonna wrestle, and Merab is on another level,” Muhammad said. “Especially with his last fight, beating Cejudo the way he did, but I’ve swayed—I’m picking O’Malley in this fight. I think he’s a sharpshooter; he’s so good at moving laterally. Merab gets hit a lot in a lot of his fights, and he’s been rocked a lot. He’s a ‘Machine’, so he’ll walk through those punches, but I just think that O’Malley hits differently than anybody he’s fought.”

“He has so much confidence after knocking out Aljo, who I think has better striking than Merab. Merab is very wild when he runs in, and even with his takedowns, he’ll sacrifice defense just to shoot in and grab a hold of you. Once he grabs a hold of you, it’s gonna be a long night, but I think that O’Malley has been training for him. He knows how to do that back step. I think I see Merab walking into something.”

“Remember the Name” expressed concerns that Dvalishvili seems to be prioritizing social media promotion over his actual training, implying that he may have lost the fire to win the title. Muhammad also criticized “The Machine” for his recent antics, specifically calling out his decision to publicize suffering a cut during training.

“Merab has just been posting. I think he’s been doing too much social media, thinking about promoting and being a character instead of training hard for the fight. You’re getting stitches, you’re showing you’re getting stitches, then you’re taking them out with scissors, then you’re drinking in Mexico, and you’re showing all of this stuff that does not need to be documented. All of this stuff does not need to be posted. But I think now he’s in that social media mindset where it’s not about the hunger anymore. It’s not, ‘This is my first time getting this title shot; it took me this long to get here; I can’t let the opportunity pass me up.’ It’s, ‘Let me show the UFC that I can be sold. I can sell myself. I can do this,’ and you’re thinking about other stuff instead of the goal, which is to win the fight.”

Continue Reading ‘Too Much Social Media’ – Belal Muhammad Changes His Mind On Noche UFC 306 Main Event Pick at MMA News.

Kamaru Usman Rectifies Merab Dvalishvili’s Misconception About Fighting Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov would appear to be next in line for whoever comes out on top in this weekend’s UFC 306 main event. Champion Sean O’Malley looks to earn his second title defense when he takes on Merab Dvalishvili at the Sphere. However, in the lead up to this fight, Dvalishvili has explained why he doesn’t […]

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Rectifies Merab Dvalishvili’s Misconception About Fighting Umar Nurmagomedov at MMA News.

Umar Nurmagomedov would appear to be next in line for whoever comes out on top in this weekend’s UFC 306 main event.

Champion Sean O’Malley looks to earn his second title defense when he takes on Merab Dvalishvili at the Sphere.

However, in the lead up to this fight, Dvalishvili has explained why he doesn’t believe that Nurmagomedov is currently at the front of the pack.

The cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov is undefeated at 18-0 but his only win over a ranked opponent was his most recent outing against Cory Sandhagen, which elevated him all the way to the #2-spot.

Dvalishvili has instead made the case for former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo being his first challenger if he becomes champion on September 14, after winning three in a row since moving up to 135 pounds.

Kamaru Usman Argues Why Merab Dvalishvili Should Be Lobbying For Umar Nurmagomedov Fight Next

On a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Dvalishvili once again explained why he doesn’t think Nurmagomedov has got enough high-level wins to justify a title shot.

There’s no denying that this would be a big fight for the UFC considering the legacy of Nurmagomedov’s family name and that’s something that Usman addressed.

After hearing Dvalishvili’s reasoning, he looked to get across to him why fighting Nurmagomedov should be an option that he considers rather than disregarding him.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” spoke about how it’s important for a champion to make the most of their time at the top by getting the biggest possible fights out there, which right now in the bantamweight division, means taking on the undefeated contender.

“I get it, if we’re going by the rankings senses, it makes more sense 100% but, at the same time, we have to understand and I want you to understand this. This is one thing I’m gonna tell you Merab. If by God’s grace you are the champion, you have to understand that as the champion, now I have to use this belt, this position to accumulate as much income as I can at that time because time waits for nobody.

“At some point, we’re gonna get old, we’re going to change and the belt is going to change hands, there’s going to be new champions even whether you retire the champion or not. There’s going to be a new champion so the job, the goal, is to pull in as much as you can while you’re in that position and we can’t deny that a fight with a guy like yourself and Umar Nurmagomedov would be a bigger sell than a fight with Deiveson Figueiredo at this time, even though Figueiredo is still, I think, a big name.

Read also: Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’ 

Continue Reading Kamaru Usman Rectifies Merab Dvalishvili’s Misconception About Fighting Umar Nurmagomedov at MMA News.

Merab Dvalishvili Wants To Avenge Aljamain Sterling Loss, Prove O’Malley Got ‘Lucky’

Merab Dvalishvili has been chasing a shot at the bantamweight title for a long time now but there was one major obstacle in his way. For a long time now, he has been training partners and close friends with Aljamain Sterling, who held the 135-pound belt for over two years. Sterling’s reign came to an […]

Continue Reading Merab Dvalishvili Wants To Avenge Aljamain Sterling Loss, Prove O’Malley Got ‘Lucky’ at MMA News.

Merab Dvalishvili has been chasing a shot at the bantamweight title for a long time now but there was one major obstacle in his way.

For a long time now, he has been training partners and close friends with Aljamain Sterling, who held the 135-pound belt for over two years.

Sterling’s reign came to an end at UFC 292 last year where he was stopped by Sean O’Malley in the second round.

Sterling debated whether the referee on that night, Marc Goddard, was guilty of an early stoppage and this is something that Dvalishvili has been very vocal about.

Now he has the opportunity to get revenge for his teammate by taking the belt off of O’Malley at UFC 306 inside the Sphere.

Merab Dvalishvili Says He Wants To Prove That Sean O’Malley Was ‘Lucky’

During a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Dvalishvili spoke passionately about his thoughts on the Sterling vs O’Malley fight.

He doesn’t see why the official would call the action when he did because despite the defending champion being dropped, he continued to move before taking several follow-up shots that led to Goddard stepping in.

The challenger says that this gives him more motivation ahead of September 14 where he wants to show that “Suga” had luck on his side on that night in Boston.

“I want to win this fight and I want to show the world he’s just a regular [guy] and he just got lucky because yeah, he did throw punch, he did clip Aljamain Sterling but Marc Goddard really helped him because when Aljo was down, he was keep moving, he was trying to grab the leg, he was moving and where Marc Goddard called him to move, he moved and then he stopped. If you tell him move and then he move, why you stop it you know. Me, when I fight, before the fight in locker room when referee comes I always tell referee, ‘Hey, if I get clipped, don’t stop me. Let me fight, I rather sleep, I rather die. Then, of course, you stop me but long as I’m moving, I’m doing something, please don’t stop me because I don’t need you.’

“Aljo was still in this fight but I was so mad when Marc Goddard stop the fight early again. So yeah, this is also like you said Henry, this is avenge this loss.”

Read also: Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’ 

Continue Reading Merab Dvalishvili Wants To Avenge Aljamain Sterling Loss, Prove O’Malley Got ‘Lucky’ at MMA News.

Merab Dvalishvili Wants to Make an Example out of Sean O’Malley “Show him he has to be humble.”

Merab Dvalishvili UFC 306The relentless wrestler Merab Dvalishvili is looking to make an example out the UFC champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley when…

Merab Dvalishvili UFC 306

The relentless wrestler Merab Dvalishvili is looking to make an example out the UFC champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley when they meet at UFC 306. Noche UFC hosted at The Sphere in Las Vegas will see ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili face the US-born O’Malley with the bantamweight title on the line.

Merab Dvalishvili wants to Break Sean O’Malley at UFC 306

The Georgian-born wrestler Merab Dvalishvili has sliced through the competitive bantamweight division defeating impressive fighters such as Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Jose Aldo, among others. Now, he faces the reigning division champion, the sharpshooter, Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.

Speaking to the media, Merab Dvalishvili explained:

“But now I have an even more important thing. To beat him on Saturday night and grab his belt, take his belt. I can talk after the fight. Maybe I can forgive him, or we can talk. I want to keep it that way. I want to just win and show him he has to be humble and he has to respect everybody.”

“This a professional fight for the UFC belt. This is for legacy. I was mad at him a couple times. I was very mad when he mentioned my country in a disrespectful way. Because my country, it’s more than religion for me. I have my country here, and that’s why I started fighting, because I want to represent my country. This is healthy competition. This is what we do. Then when somebody, it doesn’t matter who, disrespects your family or your country, you have to be mad. If you’re a man you have to be mad and I wanted to smack his face that time.” [Ht MMAJunkie]

‘Sugar’ Sean is a sniper and a knockout machine, but Dvalishvili does not think he’ll have any issues. At UFC 306, he is confident he will take the bantamweight title with him back to Georgia. He continued:

“Stylistically, it’s easy for me because my cardio, my grappling, my style should work against him. But at the same time, we see what he can do. He can throw something big. It’s a challenge. I can dominate, but he can throw one punch and he can change everything. Every fight is like this. I don’t look at any fights in the UFC as easy. There is no easy fights here. Not always the best fighter wins. We’ve seen it so many times.”

Merab Dvalishvili sean omalley

Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’ 

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 […]

Continue Reading Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’  at MMA News.

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.

Continue Reading Coach Ray Longo Pushes Back On Dana White’s Criticism Of Merab Dvalishvili: ‘He’s Far From A Dummy…’  at MMA News.