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Dana White slams Merab Dvalishvili for avoiding Aljamain Sterling title fight: ‘You should be somewhere else’

UFC president, Dana White has hit out at surging number two ranked division contender, Merab Dvalishvili – after the Georgian made it entirely clear he had no intention of fighting his training partner and friend, Aljamain Sterling, whether that be for a title or not, under the banner of the UFC. Dvalishvili, who has won […]

Dvalishvili, who has won his last nine consecutive fights under the promotion’s banner, most recently landed a completely one-sided unanimous decision win over fellow European talent and former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan in a March headliner.

Undergoing a surgical procedure to address a hand injury in the time since, Dvalishvili has shot down the idea of a championship fight with the aforenoted, Sterling – before the Uniondale native dropped his crown to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 earlier this month courtesy of a stunning second round TKO loss.

Dana White claims Merab Dvalishvili should compete elsewhere

Questioned about his thoughts on Dvalishvili’s decision to pass up on a title fight with Serra-Longo MMA stablemate, Sterling, White claimed that the Georgian should consider fighting elsewhere if he retained that attitude.

“Everybody in this room, and everyone watching this video knows how I feel about this sh*t,” Dana White said of Merab Dvalishvili during his media availability after the Contender Series. “I hate it. Why did you even get into this sport? If that’s your mentality and the way that you think: ‘I don’t want the title, I don’t want the championship, we’re friends, we’re this, we’re that,’”

“This is not about friendship,” White explained. “This is about finding out who the best in the world is, and if you don’t want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you. You should be somewhere else. There’s plenty of places to fight where they don’t give a sh*t what you do. It doesn’t work here.”

Off the back of Sterling’s title loss to O’Malley, Dvalishvili claimed he would now be ready to compete at UFC 296 in December against the Montana native, in an undisputed bantamweight championship fight.

Do you agree with Dana White’s stance on the surging Merab Dvalishvili?

Sean O’Malley makes shocking claim about MMA managers: ‘There’s managers who take 20% of fighter’s purses’

Claiming earlier this month that managers representing fighters under the UFC banner have taken percentages of bonuses earned by competitors, newly-minted undisputed bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley has claimed that percentage is often in the region of 20% – while some managers have received a further 20% of their client’s overall fight purse. O’Malley, the newly-minted […]

O’Malley, the newly-minted bantamweight champion, headlined UFC 292 two weeks ago in Boston, Massachusetts, defeating Uniondale wrestling ace, Aljamain Sterling with a stunning second round knockout at the TD Garden.

The outspoken Montana native, who represents himself, drew attention when he made the staggering claim that some managers who represent fighters under the UFC banner, actually receive a percentage of post-fight bonuses earned by their respective clients.

Sean O’Malley makes staggering claim about certain MMA managers

However, divulging on that claim overnight, the Dana White’s Contender Series product has now claimed that up to 20% of fighter’s pursues and bonuses receives, have been deducted by certain managers operating in mixed martial arts.

“There are managers that take 20% of fighter’s purses AND 20% of their bonuses,” Sean O’Malley posted on his official X account. If you do this to the fighters you are a POS.”

There are managers that take 20% of fighters purses AND 20% of their bonuses. If you do this to the fighters you are a POS.

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 28, 2023

Already planning for his first attempted bantamweight title defense, O’Malley, who had welcomed a future rematch with Sterling, first wants to compete at UFC 296 in December, taking on either former-foe, Marlon Vera in a title re-run – or landing a title defense against former two-weight champion, Henry Cejudo.

And off the back of his title victory, fan-favorite striker, O’Malley inked himself with two new face tattoos to reflect his championship win against Sterling – including a king’s crown, and the word ‘champ’ – paired with Roman numerals.

Who would you like to see Sean O’Malley fight next?

Sean O’Malley coach Tim Welch reveals why referee warned him during UFC 292 headliner

Moments before Sean O’Malley delivered a perfectly timed counter right hand that made him a world champion, his coach, Tim Welch, was given a stern warning by referee Marc Goddard. ‘Sugar’ scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career on August 19, landing a highlight-reel-worthy knockout against Aljamain Sterling in the second round […]

Moments before Sean O’Malley delivered a perfectly timed counter right hand that made him a world champion, his coach, Tim Welch, was given a stern warning by referee Marc Goddard.

‘Sugar’ scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career on August 19, landing a highlight-reel-worthy knockout against Aljamain Sterling in the second round of their UFC 292 headliner. But moments before the epic knockout blow landed, O’Malley’s longtime coach and podcast partner, Tim Welch was reprimanded by the presiding referee.

Many fans were left confused as to what Welch was doing off-camera that garnered the referee’s attention, but in a recent MiddleEasy exclusive interview with James Lynch, Welch revealed the reason.

“I just was talking to Aljo, because I knew in Aljo’s last three fights, he pressures people until they kick,” Welch said. “And when they kick, he catches the kick and runs them into the fence. Cory Sandhagen, TJ Dillashaw, some of his fights he does that.

I just wanted to remind him of Marlon Moraes… a ‘Marlon Moraes’ is coming, I wanted to do something to hesitate him from coming forward so hard and taking such shots. I wanted to freeze him up a little bit. It might’ve been worth it, might not have, but [Marc Goddard] was just saying ‘Don’t talk to Aljo’” (h/t MMA News).

Maybe it worked. Maybe it didn’t. But we all know what happened roughly 60 seconds later.

Fresh off his big title win, Sean O’Malley is already looking toward his first UFC title defense. Determined to return to the Octagon in December for UFC 296, ‘Sugar’ has his sights set on a clash with the only man to defeat him under the UFC banner, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. No official announcements have been made as O’Malley is currently nursing a rib injury sustained during the UFC 292 main event, but all signs currently point to O’Malley vs. ‘Chito’ running it back later this year.

Sean O’Malley shows off new champion themed face tattoos after UFC 292 title win over Aljamain Sterling

Deep into his celebrations following a stunning knockout win over Aljamain Sterling last weekend to win the undisputed bantamweight championship at UFC 292, Sean O’Malley has been inked with two new champion-themed tattoos on his face, off the back of his title coronation. O’Malley, who headlined UFC 292 earlier this month in Boston, Massachusetts, minted […]

O’Malley, who headlined UFC 292 earlier this month in Boston, Massachusetts, minted himself as the undisputed bantamweight champion with a stunning second round win over the incumbent, Sterling, dropping the Uniondale native with a right straight before forcing a stoppage via a slew of ground strikes.

And already offering to make a return at an end-of-year UFC 296 pay-per-view event in December, O’Malley has weighed up a potential first title defense in a rematch with Marlon Vera, as well as a showdown with former two-weight champion, Henry Cejudo.

Sean O’Malley shows off two new face tattoos

Enjoying the festivities following his title win against Sterling, O’Malley showed off a pair of championship-inspired tattoos, including a king’s crown, as well as the word ‘champ’ alongside some roman numerals on his forehead and above his eye.

Sean O’Malley got his champ tattoo pic.twitter.com/XiFm8RkMTm

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) August 27, 2023

Along with a potential title rematch with Ecuadorian finisher, Vera, O’Malley remains open to the possibility of a re-run with Serra-Longo MMA staple, Sterling in the future, claiming a bout could even happen if both make a rumored featherweight climb.

“Who knows, we could even meet at 145 [pounds] someday,” Sean O’Malley said. “I know he;s getting up there a little bit in age, but to be honest, Aljo is still in his prime. Three and a half months ago he beat Henry Cejudo, but he just got caught. But I think with Aljo, that fight could definitely happen sometime down the line in the future.”

Do you want to see Sean O’Malley fight Aljamain Sterling again?

Sean O’Malley believes title fight rematch with UFC rival Aljamain Sterling ‘Could definitely happen’

Sean O’Malley definitely sees himself once again sharing the Octagon with Aljamain Sterling someday. On August 19, O’Malley scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career, blasting the ‘Funk Master’ with a beautiful counter right hand that sent Sterling crashing to the canvas in the opening minute of round two. Seconds later, the […]

Sean O’Malley definitely sees himself once again sharing the Octagon with Aljamain Sterling someday.

On August 19, O’Malley scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career, blasting the ‘Funk Master’ with a beautiful counter right hand that sent Sterling crashing to the canvas in the opening minute of round two. Seconds later, the fight was waived off and O’Malley would be dubbed the new bantamweight world champion.

Moments after landing the highlight-reel finish in the UFC 292 main event, Sean O’Malley was already looking toward the future, calling out the only man to beat him inside the Octagon, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

As it stands, there is a bevy of potential title challengers chomping at the bit to get their shot at the new 135-pound king. Merab Dvalishvili, Cory Sandhagen, and Henry Cejudo, to name a few. But no matter who Sean O’Malley shares the Octagon with for his first title defense, ‘Sugar’ believes it’s just a matter of time before he crosses paths with Aljamain Sterling once again.

“He has a medical suspension from the fight. If my timeframe plays out the way I want it to be, I’ll be fighting in December,” O’Malley said during an appearance on The Jim Rome Show.” Therefore, there’d be no rematch there. Me and Aljo could very well meet up. I do think him moving up to 145 makes sense. He’s a very big guy. He’s not going to be outpowered at 145. He’s very strong. Very physical. He’s gonna have better grappling than a lot of those guys at 145.

“Who knows, we could even meet at 145 someday. I know he’s getting up there a little bit in age, but to be honest, Aljo is still in his prime. Three and a half months ago he beat Henry Cejudo, but he just got caught. But I think with Aljo, that fight could definitely happen sometime down the line in the future.”

Pending a rib injury sustained during his UFC 292 headliner, Sean O’Malley plans on closing out his year at UFC 296 when the promotion presents itself final pay-per-view of 2023. No official announcements have been made regarding the date or his potential opponent, but all signs point toward O’Malley running back his 2020 clash with ‘Chito’ Vera. If that fight does not come to fruition, top-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili has already confirmed that he will be ready to go by December 16 should ‘Sugar’ need an opponent.

Who do you want to see Sean O’Malley defend his bantamweight title against first?

Video – Israel Adesanya reacts to Sean O’Malley’s KO win to lift title at UFC 292: ‘Destiny, what did I say?’

Prior to his championship win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last weekend, Sean O’Malley was backed to fulfil his apparent “destiny” to clinch division spoils by current middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya – who claimed he followed through with his prediction of events as he reacted to the savage knockout stoppage. Headlining his first event […]

Headlining his first event since landing in the Octagon from Dana White’s Contender Series, Montana native, O’Malley strapped himself with undisputed bantamweight gold with a stunning second round TKO win over Sterling, laying waste to the Uniondale native with a slew of damaging ground strikes.

Israel Adesanya heaps praise on Sean O’Malley after UFC 292 win

And sharing his thoughts on the victory, Adesanya makes his own return to the Octagon next month in Sydney, Australia as he takes main event honors at UFC 293 against challenger, Sean Strickland, claimed once more that it was the “destiny” of O’Malley to win bantamweight spoils at the TD Garden event a week ago.

“Wow,” Israel Adesanya said in a reaction video posted on his YouTube channel. “Destiny, destiny, destiny, that’s destiny, man. Damn. I knew it, I was like, ‘I know it’s gonna happen.’”

“What did I say? He’s (Sean O’Malley) gonna touch him (Aljamain Sterling) – just out of range. Checkmate, checkmate, checkmate, checkmate – you reached.

Already plotting his first attempted defense of the bantamweight crown after his coronation at UFC 292, Montana striker, O’Malley has welcomed a title rematch with prior foe and fellow event feature, Marlon Vera for UFC 296 in December of this year.

Furthermore, O’Malley has been the subject of call outs for the end-of-annum event by surging number two ranked contender and teammate of Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, as well as former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo.

Tag: UFC 292