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Merab Dvalishvili has the key to defeating UFC champion Sean O’Malley: ‘I will take him down’

Merab Dvalishvili believes he holds the key to dethroning Sean O’Malley. Following an impressive showing against former two-division champion…

Merab Dvalishvili believes he holds the key to dethroning Sean O’Malley.

Following an impressive showing against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, ‘The Machine’ appears to be next in line for a bantamweight title opportunity.

Before getting his turn, Dvalishvili will sit back and watch as O’Malley puts his title on the line for the first time against the only man to have bested him inside the Octagon thus far, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, at UFC 299 on March 9. Should ‘Sugar’ pass his first test as the bantamweight king, Dvalishvili already has a pretty good idea of what he’ll need to do to end O’Malley’s reign.

“I see [O’Malley] as a dangerous opponent because he has good footwork, he has knockout power, he has a very strong right hand, and he has good timing,” Dvalishvili said on the MIGHTYcast podcast with Demetrious Johnson. “I see him as a dangerous fighter. Once he won on the Contender Series and I saw him in the UFC, I wanted to fight him because I want to challenge myself and I’m still looking that way.

“But how I see [the fight playing out], I think I should stay smart, just patient, keep striking and just wait for my time to shoot. If he defends, I let him go and then I’m going to shoot again, make him slow, make him tired, and eventually I will take him down” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Merab Dvalishvili ready to prepare for a potential clash with ‘Chito’

Of course, if Vera scores a second win over O’Malley in Miami, he will likely be the man fighting Dvalishvili later this year.

“I think ‘Chito’ is also a good fighter,” Dvalishvili said. “Very smart, he’s waiting in his pocket, he’s patient. He’s slow, but he’s sharp. Of course, he has a lot of experience in the UFC, he’s been in so many fights, won and lost. He’s dangerous, he has good kicks as well. But I don’t study him much, ‘Chito’ Vera, yet, but one thing is for sure, I will just train hard.

“What I learned is that you’ve got to just go step by step every fight. I’m focused on my next fight, next fight, next fight, that’s how I believe. I realized that a couple of years ago, just focus on the next fight.“

Sean O’Malley walks back Ilia Topuria call out following fan backlash, says Merab Dvalishvili is next

‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley is pumping the brakes on his proposed superfight with newly minted featherweight world champion Ilia Topuria….

‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley is pumping the brakes on his proposed superfight with newly minted featherweight world champion Ilia Topuria.

Following Topuria’s shocking second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, O’Malley made it clear that a champion vs. champion clash with ‘El Matador’ sounded much more interesting than a match-up with the grapple-heavy Merab Dvalishvili.

“When I think of a scary opponent, like what makes me (shiver), that’s Ilia,” O’Malley told Ariel Helwani on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “Ilia gives me that – he could put your f*cking lights out and change your life. That’s a scary opponent.”

Unfortunately for O’Malley, UFC fans did not agree. The reigning bantamweight champ was flooded with comments online, accusing him of ducking his division’s clear-cut No. 1 contender. As a result, O’Malley walked back his MMA Hour comments, declaring that Dvalishvili will be the next man up and his intentions of making an example out of ‘The Machine.’

“I wanted the Ilia fight, it excites me, but I also thought the fans would get excited about it,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “I got a lot of pushback, saying ‘You’re ducking Merab, Merab is next.’ So, Merab’s next. Let’s do Merab. I’m telling you guys, I knock Merab out. Obviously, I gotta get through ‘Chito,’ but I’m telling you guys, when I fight Merab I’m knocking that dude out. He’s sloppy. I’m accurate. I’m too fast. I’m too sharp. I put Merab’s lights out — worse than Aljo” (h/t MMA Mania).

Sean O’Malley will have to get past ‘Chito’ Vera before dismantling ‘The machine’

Dvalishvili’s unanimous decision victory over former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 skyrocketed him to the top of the bantamweight division’s top 10 rankings. Sitting on a 10-fight win streak, there is no other fighter at 135 more deserving of a title opportunity.

UFC CEO Dana White said as much while addressing reporters at the latest pay-per-view’s post-fight press event.

“He looked good tonight, man,” White said. “He did what he had (to do). In my opinion, you can’t take three years off in a combat sport. It’s never done well for anybody. Cejudo looked great in the first round. I thought he started to gas out in the second round. Merab just got stronger as the fight went on.”

Of course, before Sean O’Malley can turn his attention toward either Merab Dvalishvili or Ilia Topuria, he’ll have to get past his first bantamweight title challenger, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. The two will meet in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9 when the promotion returns to Miami.

Vera is the only man to have beaten O’Malley inside the Octagon, scoring a first-round TKO against ‘Sugar’ in August 2020.

Video – Merab Dvalishvili slaps up, submits streamer Sneako following dominant UFC 298 win

Merab Dvalishvili hands out beating to live streamer ‘Sneako’, who can’t seem to catch a break. Internet grifter Sneako…

Merab Dvalishvili hands out beating to live streamer ‘Sneako’, who can’t seem to catch a break.

Internet grifter Sneako appears to be the latest unsavoury character to attach themselves to combat sports in order to boost their profile. Once a loyal follower of Andrew Tate and part of the ‘manosphere’ movement, the American influencer often does and says controversial things in order to maintain relevancy and continue to rake in those all-important views.

Now on his self-improvement shtick, Sneako has begun to amerce himself in the combat sports world, most recently going viral for sparring ex-champion, Sean Strickland. The former middleweight champion did not hold back, raining down shots even after the towel had been thrown in.

This time Sneako elected to train with the UFC’s No.1 bantamweight, Dvalishvili, and while he did not receive and heavy blows he was tossed around. Merab Dvalishvili would slap around and take down Sneako several times, mocking him as he did so.

What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?

Dvalishvili is fresh off a win over Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 and has finally secured himself a spot at the title. The win would mark the third win over a former UFC champion in a row — and Dvalishvili shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

“I’m unstoppable,” Dvalishvili said to TNT Sports following his win. “I can fight anybody, I’m ready. Next for me is the title, whoever will be champion I will fight.”

The 33-year-old’s next opponent will be decided in a clash between current champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera next month at UFC 299. However, Dvalishvili said he would prefer O’Malley out of the two.

“Sean O’Malley,” Dvalishvili answered. “He’s superstar, he’s champion now and I’ve wanted to fight him since 2018 since I won my first fight (in the UFC) I’ve called him out. That would be a good fight for me because it’s a big challenge and I would love to fight him, so hopefully.”

Will Merab Dvalishvili end 2024 as UFC champion?

Video – Merab Dvalishvili slaps up, submits streamer Sneako following dominant UFC 298 win

Merab Dvalishvili hands out beating to live streamer ‘Sneako’, who can’t seem to catch a break. Internet grifter Sneako…

Merab Dvalishvili hands out beating to live streamer ‘Sneako’, who can’t seem to catch a break.

What’s next for Merab Dvalishvili?

“I’m unstoppable,” Dvalishvili said to TNT Sports following his win. “I can fight anybody, I’m ready. Next for me is the title, whoever will be champion I will fight.”

Will Merab Dvalishvili end 2024 as UFC champion?

Coach reveals Merab Dvalishvili fought Aljamain Sterling for three rounds before UFC 298 win over Henry Cejudo

UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili confirms backstage sparring story prior to his UFC 298 win this past weekend. After beating…

UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili confirms backstage sparring story prior to his UFC 298 win this past weekend.

After beating Henry Cejudo over three rounds, Dvalishvili has now beaten three former champions in his past three fights. The proud Georgian would outpace and out-grapple the former Olympic gold medallist, securing himself a shot at the 135lb title.

It was a classic Dvalishvili performance filled with relentless pace and pressure, the 33-year-old never seems to slow down no matter how many takedowns he may attempt.

What could make the result even better is that according to Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, Ray Longo, the No.1 ranked bantamweight went an intense 3×5 minute rounds with Aljamain Sterling as a part of the warmup.

“Literally fought Aljo three rounds,” Longo said on The Anik & Florian Podcast. “Like f***ing brutal, little gloves on, swinging for the f***ing fences. Like Aljo complains about my boxing class sometimes, but that’s way worse what I just saw. Dude, they went at it three-five, so yeah, that’s the second fight of the night.”

Appearing on the MMA Hour yesterday, Dvalishvili confirmed the series of events, even claiming that the rounds with Sterling were harder than the actual fight.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dvalishvili answered. “That’s how we warm up, we are best friends, training partners, we beat each other and make each other better and then we are ready for anybody else.”

Dana White confirms Merab Dvalishvili title shot next

While UFC CEO White claims he does not make fights the night of an event, during the post-fight media conference would at least confirm that Dvalishvili would be next. He will face either Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera with the pair fighting for the belt on March 9.

“He looked good tonight, man,” White said. “He did what he had (to do).”

Will Merab Dvalishvili become UFC champion?

Video – Thousands of Georgians gather in freezing weather to watch Ilia Topuria’s UFC 298 title win

Georgia has its first UFC world champion, and his name is Ilia Topuria. On Saturday night, ‘El Matador’ entered…

Georgia has its first UFC world champion, and his name is Ilia Topuria.

On Saturday night, ‘El Matador’ entered the Octagon with an entire country behind him. Less than two rounds later, he shocked the world with a sensational second-round knockout of featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkavnoski to claim the 145-pound crown. It was a history-making moment for Topuria and his transcontinental home country.

To give the rest of the world an idea of how much Topuria’s victory means to the country, MMA reporter and fellow Georgian Giorgi Kokiashvili shared a video of thousands of fight fans celebrating in the streets after their native son did exactly what he said he was going to do.

“Topuria is a great and had a tremendous performance. If he continues like this I think he will have a great future,” UFC CEO Dana White said at a post-fight press event.

Merab Dvalishvili gives Georgians another victory to celebrate

Ilia Topuria wasn’t the only Georgian fighter to deliver big at UFC 298. Earlier in the evening, bantamweight standout Merab Dvalishvili scored his 10th-straight win inside the Octagon, besting former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision.

With the victory, Dvalishvili was dubbed as the next man in line for a shot at the 135-pound title.