Head coach John Wood is rallying hard behind new bantamweight champ
Merab
Dvalishvili.
Advertisement
Dvalishvili dethroned Sean
O’Malley via unanimous decision in the main event at UFC
306 on Sept. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Leading up to the
fight, Dvalishvili had already shown some disregard for
bantamweight contender Umar
Nurmagomedov.
“The Machine” claimed Nurmagomedov’s name was pushed into the title
picture off of only one notable win due to his relation to Khabib
Nurmagomedov. Regardless, immediately after Dvalishvili’s title
win, Joe Rogan asked him about potentially fighting Nurmagomedov,
who was also shown on the big screen while attending UFC 306.
Dvalishvili refused to immediately plot his next move, claiming he
needed to soak in the moment. The Georgian then went on to call out
former flyweight champ Deiveson
Figueiredo at the post-fight press conference.
Wood is now backing Dvalishvili’s call to fight Figueiredo over
Nurmagomedov. The
Syndicate MMA head coach prefers Figueiredo over Nurmagomedov,
whom he doesn’t consider deserving of a title shot yet. However,
Wood notes that Dvalishvili won’t shy away from whatever the
UFC puts on the table.
“Stylistically it’s a great fight, it’s an entertaining fight,”
Wood told Sportskeeda MMA. “Deiveson’s a stud. He’s been killing
it since he’s moved up to [135 pounds]. So I would love to see that
fight. But honestly, whatever the UFC tells Merab, he’s gonna do
it. He’s obviously not a guy that shies away from any kind of
adversity or toughness or people. I don’t believe that Umar has
earned that right yet to have a title shot that quickly. But
ultimately we know how this business goes. [It] comes down to what
the UFC wants.”
While Wood knows that there can be arguments made in favor of all
potential title contenders, he believes Dvalishvili has earned the
right to call his shots. The champ is now on an 11-fight winning
streak that has seen him walk through the who’s who at 135 pounds.
Wood also says he won’t be overwhelmed if they get the Nurmagomedov
matchup, which he can foresee happening in the future anyway.
“I feel like Merab more than anything has earned the right to at
least call his shot at the moment,” Wood said. “He took out the
golden boy, he’s taken out every single person in front of him, all
studs, a row of murderers and killers. For me, I think he’s earned
the right to say, ‘Hey this is who I want to fight,’ and he should
be able to go fight him. That’s what I believe. If we end up with
Umar, I’m not saying, ‘Oh my God this is travesty.’ I think we’re
going to fight him eventually either way. And I don’t think it’s a
bad fight for Merab.”