✈️ booked @MerabDvalishvil
is headed to Miami tmrw for
#UFC299 as the official title fight back up. Let’s make it a
pink panty night!
#MiamiMerab pic.twitter.com/Eg0nwTyRFm— KOreps (@ko_reps)
March 6, 2024
If something goes awry ahead of UFC
299, Merab
Dvalishvili could get his championship opportunity sooner than
expected.
The bantamweight contender’s management announced on Tuesday
evening that “The Machine” will serve as the back-up fighter for
the bantamweight title headliner between reigning champion Sean
O’Malley and Marlon Vera.
Dvalishvili will weigh in on Friday and be ready to step in if
anything happens to either O’Malley or Vera.
Dvalishvili is currently on a 10-fight winning streak in UFC
competition, with nine of those victories coming at 135 pounds. He
cemented his status as the division’s No. 1 contender in waiting
with a three-round verdict over Henry
Cejudo at
UFC 298 on Feb. 17. After the bout, UFC CEO Dana White
confirmed that the 33-year-old Georgian would be next in line for a
bantamweight title shot. Even if all goes as planned this week,
Dvalishvili is likely to face the O’Malley-Vera winner at a future
event.
UFC 299 takes place on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The
main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7
p.m. PT.