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Anthony Smith questions Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling friendship: ‘I don’t know if it goes both ways’

Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling, Anthony Smith Anthony Smith doesn’t believe Aljamain Sterling reciprocates the same level of respect towards teammate Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili earned a significant victory over former champion Petr Yan this past weekend at UFC 71. He’s now the #1 ranked contender in the bantamweight division. Nonetheless, “The Machine” isn’t interested in fighting his teammate and current champion Aljamain […]

Anthony Smith doesn’t believe Aljamain Sterling reciprocates the same level of respect towards teammate Merab Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili earned a significant victory over former champion Petr Yan this past weekend at UFC 71. He’s now the #1 ranked contender in the bantamweight division.

Nonetheless, “The Machine” isn’t interested in fighting his teammate and current champion Aljamain Sterling.

During an appearance on the “Believe You Me” podcast, Smith shared his thoughts on the Dvalishvili-Sterling friendship.

“I think that this has to be kind of a mutual thing,” Smith said. “And it’s gonna be some hard conversations, but if Aljamain is as good of a friend to Merab as Merab is to Aljo – and that’s the thing, I don’t know that I’ve seen it go both ways. What I’ve seen is Merab ride hard as s**t for his best friend. I haven’t always necessarily seen it go the other way for Aljo, maybe he’s just not – well I’m not saying they’re not, I’m just saying I haven’t seen it.” (Transcribed MMA News)

UFC president Dana White advised Dvalishvili to look after his own interests. He doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Tbilisi, Georgia native to avoid a fight with his close friend.

Merab Dvalishvili Does Not Envision a Scrap with Aljamain Sterling

Dvalishvili and Sterling are long-time teammates who represent the Serra-Longo Fight Team. A matchup between the two bantamweights seems unlikely due to their close relationship but things could change.

There have been many UFC matchups between former teammates. Examples include T.J. Dillashaw-Cody Garbrandt, Colby Covington-Jorge Masivdal, Kamaru Usman-Gilbert Burns and Jon Jones- Rashad Evans.

Sterling is reportedly expected to face Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 on May 8. Since winning the bantamweight title in March 2021, the “Funk Master” has defended the strap twice- against Yan and Dillashaw.

Dvalishvili, 32, is on a nine-fight unbeaten streak. His resume includes wins over Yan, José Aldo, Marlon Moraes, Cody Stamann and John Dodson.

Merab Dvalishvili calls Dana White’s bluff, requests $10,000,000,000 to fight teammate Aljamain Sterling

Surging UFC bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has called promotional president, Dana White’s bluff and rebuffed his warning of fighting teammate, Aljamain Sterling for the division title next – calling for a cool $10,000,000,000 payday to fight the Uniondale native. Headlining against former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan last weekend at UFC Las Vegas, Merab Dvalishvili […]

Headlining against former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan last weekend at UFC Las Vegas, Merab Dvalishvili turned in a dominant, one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) victory over the Dudinka native – and off the back of the victory, has since minted himself as the number ranked contender at the bantamweight limit.

Leapfrogging both Yan and former number one ranked challenger, Sean O’Malley – Dvalishvili, who is the training partner of the above-mentioned champion, Sterling, knocked back calls for him to face his fellow Serra-Longo MMA mainstay next.

Officially confirmed to headline UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey in May – Sterling will welcome former duel-weight champion, Henry Cejudo back to the Octagon following his 2020 retirement.

However, Dvalishvili has claimed that he would reject a title fight offer to face teammate, Sterling in the future, leading to a rather stark warning from promotional president, White.

“That’s a personal decision he (Merab Dvalishvili) needs to make,” Dana White explained. “If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends. It’s not a good ending to that story. But, he’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”

“You can still be friends and want what your friend has,” Dana White said. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path [avoiding Aljamain Sterling].”

Merab Dvalishvili calls for cool payday to fight teammate Aljamain Sterling

Reacting to the warning issued by White, Georgian grappling ace, Dvalishvili has called for a whopping ten billion dollar payday to even consider fighting Sterling in the future.

“I understand business and everything, but Aljamain Sterling is my friend and my brother,” Merav Dvalishvili told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “It’s all good. Aljo has a fight now. He’s fighting Henry Cejudo. I’m going to be back to the gym in about a week and I’m going to help him to prepare for Henry Cejudo. I think after that, he will beat up (Sean) O’Malley, and he said he’s planning to move up [to featherweight]. If he wants to do it, I will fight [for the bantamweight] title.”

“If they [the UFC] want me to fight Aljo, maybe they have to pay $10,000,000,000,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “Then yes, I’ll be ready.”

Merab Dvalishvili claims he should have killed himself if he lost to Petr Yan at UFC Las Vegas: ‘I had extra pressure’

Surging UFC bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili has claimed that he should have killed himself if he suffered defeat to former undisputed champion, Petr Yan in their UFC Las Vegas main event last weekend – questioning the Dudinka native’s character. Headlining his premier event under the UFC banner, Dvalishvili, who entered the main event tilt as […]

Headlining his premier event under the UFC banner, Dvalishvili, who entered the main event tilt as the #3 ranked bantamweight contender, managed to land a comprehensive and straightforward unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) victory over former champion, Yan.

Shooting for an eye-watering 47 separate takedowns over the course of their five round affair, Georgia native, Dvalishvili set an unbearable pace on Russian striker, Yan, mitigating the latter’s offensive output throughout their main event matchup.

Merab Dvalishvili claims he would have contemplated suicide if he lost to Petr Yan

However, candidly, the Tbilisi native claimed that he would have explored the idea of suicide if he lost to Yan – expressing his dislike for the latter’s character.

“I had extra pressure to represent my country – my people, my team,” Merab Dvalishvili informed assembled media following UFC Las Vegas. “We were working so hard, and I want to just represent ‘good’. I said, I don’t care if any other fighter [defeats me], but [if I] lost against him (Petr Yan), I should kill myself or something.”

“He’s a great fighter, like I said before, he’s a little bit cocky,” Merab Dvalishvili explained. “And yeah, I love fighters because they are humble. They are all good people. And I don’t think this guy is a very good guy.”

Immediately following his judging win over Yan, Dvalishvili, a training partner of current bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, explained how he would reject the opportunity to fight the Uniondale native in a title fight – leading to a stark warning from promotional head-honcho, Dana White.

“That’s a personal decision he (Merab Dvalishvili) needs to make,” Dana White said. “If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends. It’s not a good ending to that story. But, he’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”

“You can still be friends and want what your friend has,” Dana White explained. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path [avoiding Aljamain Sterling].”

Israel Adesanya falls asleep during reaction to Merab Dvalishvili’s UFC Las Vegas victory

Israel Adesanya was reacting to UFC Las Vegas’ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight when he fell asleep due to boredom. ‘The Machine’ once again proved he possesses unreal cardio when he faced Petr Yan last Saturday. The two men threw down after an intense staredown on Friday, and Dvalishvili literally set a record against […]

Israel Adesanya was reacting to UFC Las Vegas’ Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight when he fell asleep due to boredom.

‘The Machine’ once again proved he possesses unreal cardio when he faced Petr Yan last Saturday. The two men threw down after an intense staredown on Friday, and Dvalishvili literally set a record against his opponent while cruising to victory.

Now 16-4 with the win over Yan, ‘The Machine’ is 5-0 in his last five fights. Known for setting an almost un-matchable pace, Dvalishvili has now completely separated himself from the rest of the competition in the bantamweight division. All that’s left is to battle the champion, however, the current bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling just so happens to be a close friend and training partner of Dvalishvili.

The two fighters have already gone on record to state they have no intentions of fighting eachother. So, Merab Dvalishvili is trapped in a revolving cycle of slaying all contenders while waiting for his close friend to either lose or vacate the title.

While watching ‘The Machine’ face Yan, former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya apparently fell asleep. Obviously, he wasn’t too impressed by Dvalishvili’s latest performance.

Israel Adesanya reacts live to Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight at UFC Las Vegas

Even though some fans and fighters might not have been too impressed: Merab Dvalishvili did set a new record in takedown attempts against Yan. Shooting for an incredible 49 takedowns, ‘The Machine’ definitely earned the nickname at UFC Las Vegas.

While some complain the offense was a boring wrestling heavy mix, Dvalishvili did also outstrike Yan 202-87. The two fighters attempted a total of 155 and 401 strikes respectively, while ‘The Machine’ striked at a clip of almost 50% landing 202 strikes out of 401.

What was your opinion on the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Petr Yan fight — did you snooze like Israel Adesanya?

Henry Cejudo calls for Merab Dvalishvili title fight at UFC 288, expects Aljamain Sterling to withdraw

Former two-weight UFC champion, Henry Cejudo has pleaded with promotional president, Dana White to install surging contender, Merab Dvalishvili into his planned May 8. title fight return at UFC 288 – claiming current undisputed champion, Aljamain Sterling will likely withdraw from their fight. Cejudo, a former undisputed flyweight and bantamweight champion under the promotion’s banner, […]

Cejudo, a former undisputed flyweight and bantamweight champion under the promotion’s banner, is scheduled to snap his three-year retirement on May 8. at UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey – booking an undisputed title fight against the above-mentioned Uniondale native, Sterling.

The Los Angeles-born wrestler co-headlined most recently in a bantamweight title defense against former gold holder, Dominick Cruz – retiring after scoring a buzzer-beating second round TKO victory.

As for Sterling, the Serra-Longo MMA staple managed to lodge his second successful defense of the bantamweight title at UFC 280 back in October on ‘Fight Island’ – dispatching common-foe, T.J. Dillashaw with a one-sided series of second round ground strikes.

Henry Cejudo calls for Merab Dvalishvili to feature at UFC 288

Slated to headline in New Jersey in two month’s time, Cejudo reveals he has his doubts regarding Sterling’s ability to meet the UFC 288 date – calling for a fight with the above-mentioned, Dvalishvili off the back of his dominant win over Petr Yan last night.

“Dear @danawhite I want @merab.dvalishvili as a back up,” Henry Cejudo posted on his official Instagram account. “Let me show you what I can do. #andnew. I’m over here watching the number two and number three contenders and I’ve got a feeling that Aljamain (Sterling) is more likely to back out of this fight. So, that being said, why don’t you give me Merab?”

Dear @danawhite I want @MerabDvalishvil as a back up. Let me show you what I can do. #andnew pic.twitter.com/PJPjRXfOee

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) March 12, 2023

Catching wind of Cejudo’s calls, the current #1 ranked bantamweight contender, Sean O’Malley offered to serve as an official backup fighter at UFC 288, however, the former urged him to take a back seat for the time being.

“I’ll be ready, bud,” Sean O’Malley replied to Henry Cejudo.

“Trust me, you won’t be ready!” Henry Cejudo wrote. “Take your time get your nails done and your hair did. And watch me work.”

Dana White warns Merab Dvalishvili against refusing fight with Aljamain Sterling: ‘It would be a really bad idea’

UFC president, Dana White has claimed it would be a “really bad idea” for UFC Las Vegas main event victor, Merab Dvalishvili to avoid a championship fight with his training partner, Aljamain Sterling next, after the Geogian dispatched former titleholder, Petr Yan with relative ease last night in ‘Sin City’. Headlining the promotion’s trip to […]

Headlining the promotion’s trip to The Theater at Virgin Hotels, surging #3 ranked division contender, Dvalishvili pitched a clear shutout against former undisputed champion, Yan – notching a one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) win on his belt over the Dudinka native.

Both pre and post-fight, Tbilisi native, Merab Dvalishvili stressed how if he worked his way to a title offing in the future while Serra-Longo MMA teammate, Sterling still sat atop the bantamweight throne, he would refuse to fight the Uniondale native.

Dana White issues title warning to Merab Dvalishvili

However, UFC leader, White has claimed that should Dvalishvili wait for Sterling to potentially pursue a featherweight title shot in the future, he would be making a sizeable error.

“That’s a personal decision he (Merab Dvalishvili) needs to make,” Dana White told assembled media following a Power Slap League event. “If that’s what he wants to do, I can tell you how that story ends. It’s not a good ending to that story. But, he’s a big boy, he can figure that out on his own.”

“You can still be friends and want what your friend has,” Dana White explained. “It would be a really bad idea for Merab to go down that path [avoiding Aljamain Sterling].”

As for Sterling, the undisputed bantamweight champion – who was cornering Dvalishvili in his judging win over Yan last night, is scheduled to headline UFC 288 in May in Newark, New Jersey – attempting to land his third defense of the division throne against the returning former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo.

As part of his now-nine-fight winning spree, Dvalishvili has defeated the likes of John Dodson, Marlon Moraes, and former undisputed featherweight champion, Jose Aldo.