Tag: Merab Dvalishvili

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10Stand back Sean Shelby, Daniel Cormier has got this. The UFC’s bantamweight division is perhaps the most stacked weight…

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10

Stand back Sean Shelby, Daniel Cormier has got this.

The UFC’s bantamweight division is perhaps the most stacked weight class in all of mixed martial arts, boasting a slew of former and future world champions like Sean O’Malley, Petr Yan, Deiveson Figueiredo, Henry Cejudo, and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Then there’s 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili who’s coming off a stellar performance against ‘Sugar’ at UFC 306 in Las Vegas.

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Riding an 11-fight win streak dating back to 2018, ‘The Machine’ will look to keep his unbeaten run alive when he inevitably locks up with the No. 2 ranked Nurmagomedov in 2025.

But what about the rest of the division?

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Cormier Reveals his bantamweight wishlist

Following Petr Yan’s impressive win over Figueiredo in Macau, there are a lot of intriguing matchups to be had at 135. Doing the UFC’s job for them, Cormier broke down what he believes are the bantamweight matches that the promotion should be booking for the new year.

“There is a bunch of guys at 135 that need to be matched up. So I figured, it’s time for some matchmaking,” Cormier said on his ESPN show Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen. “For the title…easy, Merab vs. Umar. … Then I go Yan vs. Sandhagen (2) as my second fight, Chael. Because then it gives you a clear number one contender.

“Sean O’Malley needs a big fight, right? You know who else needs a big fight? Henry Cejudo. These guys have a beef, an easy beef to sell…I say put Sean O’Malley in there with the former champion Henry Cejudo. That means more than a win over Cory Sandhagen,” Cormier continued. “After that, I’m going Figgy (Deiveson Figueiredo) vs. Dominick Cruz. And my last one, Chael, we’ve got to give Mario Bautista a chance. … I’m giving him (Marlon) ‘Chito’ Vera” (h/t MMA News).

Chances are, Sean O’Malley will walk straight into a title fight once he’s ready to return following the loss against Dvalishvili in Vegas.

Also, Yan seems to think that his win over Figueiredo has already made him worthy of a rematch with ‘The Machine,’ as evidenced by his recent post on social media responding to the reigning champ’s praise.

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Dvalishvili seemed to like the idea, even going so far as to offer ‘No Mercy’ an exact date for their potential rematch.

“Great fight Petr (Yan),” Dvalishvili said in a video posted on X. “I like your callout, and I like your respect. Let’s go again, after 2 years. March 8th, T Mobile. Let’s f*cking go.”

What bantamweight matchups would you like to see in the coming year?

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Merab Dvalishvili Reacts To Former Opponent Petr Yan’s Win & Callout At UFC Macau

Petr Yan made a statement at UFC Macau, defeating Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event before calling for a rematch with current UFC Bantamweight hampion Merab Dvalishvili. Yan won a five-round decision, sweeping the scorecards against the ex-UFC flyweight champion. He then mentioned wanting a rematch with Dvalishvili and an opportunity to regain the bantamweight […]

Petr Yan made a statement at UFC Macau, defeating Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event before calling for a rematch with current UFC Bantamweight hampion Merab Dvalishvili.

Yan won a five-round decision, sweeping the scorecards against the ex-UFC flyweight champion. He then mentioned wanting a rematch with Dvalishvili and an opportunity to regain the bantamweight gold during his post-fight interview.

“Before my fight, Merab [said] Deiveson Figueiredo [was the] No. 1 contender who deserved title fight,” Yan said. “Merab, what do you say now when I beat [the] No. 1 contender in my division? I want to do [a] rematch with Merab. Let’s get it.”

Dvalishvili heard Yan’s callout and responded on social media, starting with praise of the UFC Macau main event and the Russian’s performance before expressing interest in the pair facing off at UFC 313 in Las Vegas on March 8.

Merab Dvalishvili Open To Rematch With Petr Yan, Perhaps As Soon As UFC 313

Dvalishvili and Yan met in the main event of UFC Las Vegas in March 2023, with the Georgian standout taking a five-round unanimous decision.

That fight marked Yan’s third straight loss and fourth defeat in five fights, stemming back to him controversially dropping the bantamweight championship via disqualification to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259.

“No Mercy” has since won a pair of fights in 2024, defeating Song Yadong at UFC 299 before his win over Figueiredo in Macau. Yan put on a striking clinic against “Deus Da Guerra,” and he even showed control on the ground the majority of the time he grappled with Figueiredo on the mat.

Dvalishvili, following the win over Yan, went on to defeat Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 before scoring a decision over Sean O’Malley to capture the bantamweight championship at UFC 306 (Noche UFC).

Herb Dean vs. Joe Rogan? Veteran Referee Breaks Down His Controversial UFC 306 Decisions

Herb Dean vs. Joe Rogan? Veteran Referee Breaks Down His Controversial UFC 306 DecisionsTenured referee Herb Dean wants to have a sit-down conversation with Joe Rogan and the rest of the UFC…

Herb Dean vs. Joe Rogan? Veteran Referee Breaks Down His Controversial UFC 306 Decisions

Tenured referee Herb Dean wants to have a sit-down conversation with Joe Rogan and the rest of the UFC 306 broadcast team.

In September, Dean saw a significant amount of criticism flung his way during UFC 306’s headliner between Merab Dvalishvili and ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. During the later rounds, Dean repeatedly warned Dvalishvili to keep working and stay busy while deploying his grappling-heavy attack. Rogan called Dean’s tactics “insane” and was quite critical of his performance in the championship rounds.

Herb Dean

Appearing on the JAXXON podcast with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Dean attempted to address the criticism from Rogan and Co. and revealed how he first became aware of their negative comments.

“I’m not sure if I totally understand that myself,” Dean said. “I think the analysts who started it — and I don’t want to be critiquing those guys, or have an adversarial relationship because, first of all, they say a lot of good things about me, and they have over the years.

“I would like to talk to them… the commentators. I can tell it was the commentators before I even heard that it was because on social media, I was getting a lot of the same thing. … I see a bunch of grown men saying somebody else’s opinion, must’ve been something the analysts said, and it was” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Dvalishvili ultimately came out on top, scoring a unanimous decision victory over O’Malley to claim the bantamweight world title. Before that, Dean was part of a few other odd moments during the 25-minute affair, including an instance where he had to discourage ‘The Machine’ from speaking to O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch in the opening seconds. Dean was also forced to tell Dvalishvili to stop “kissing” his opponent during a grappling exchange.

Herb Dean

Herb Dean defends his actions at UFC 306 amid criticism from Joe Rogan

However, it was Rogan’s issue with Dean’s calls to “keep working” that generated a majority of the negative attention on online.

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“They’re saying that I shouldn’t be telling the guys to work,” Dean explained. “This is something I’ve always done. Our sport, there’s rules that are there for safety. There’s rules that are there for fairness, we have rules that are there to build our sport. To make our sport what it’s supposed to be. To make our sport more exciting. …

“Most of the coaches can say my pre-fight instructions with me because I say the same thing. I tell them about things we have problems with. Most of them know the rules… but to this stuff, two things that are the most important things before I intervene: The biggest intervention is when I’m going to start your fight. So you always hear me say, ‘Fight back. Fight back.’ That lets them know so it’s not a surprise to them. …

“The next thing I’m going to say is, I’m going to say ‘work.’ And that means that I’m about to take your position away. Because in this sport we have position, and a position can lead to a fight being finished, but when I say ‘work,’ that means what I’m looking for is not just busy work, I’m looking for effort to finish the fight.

“Instead a bunch of [tapping] punches, where you could do a full five-minute round with this and not change, I’m expecting you to posture, throw bigger shots. Instead of trying to hold on, I’m expending you to spend energy advancing position, passing guard, or if you’re up against the fence, putting energy into a takedown. Something that’s going to bring the fight to a conclusion.”

Herb Dean

Simply put, if a fighter is using their dominant position to ride out the clock, Dean is going to step in and issue a warning or force a standup to make the sport more exciting for fans.

“If you have a superior position, if you’re not using it to win the fight, you’re using it to hide from your opponent to burn time,” Dean said. “That’s not what we want our sport to look like, I don’t think.”