It appears that Merab Dvalishvili will receive his long-awaited
title shot.
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Dvalishvili was expected to be Sean O’Malley’s opponent for his
first title defense before “Suga” called out Marlon Vera after
claiming the belt with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.
In the meantime, “The Machine” went on beat Henry Cejudo at
UFC 298 last month to extend his winning streak to 10. While
most thought the Cejudo victory would have cemented Dvalishvili’s
title shot, O’Malley shifted focus to featherweight champ Ilia
Topuria after successfully defending his bantamweight strap against
“Chito” at UFC
299 earlier this month.
While Dvalishvili couldn’t figure why O’Malley wasn’t interested in
fighting him, he had faith in the UFC giving him the much-awaited
gold bid. And it appears the Georgian was correct, as O’Malley
recently confirmed him as his next opponent — albeit without a date
and location. Dismissing allegations of ducking Dvalishvili,
O’Malley said that he just wasn’t excited about the matchup until
now.
“Merab’s next. Merab is f—-ing next,” O’Malley said on the
TimboSugarShow. “Your wish is granted. A lot of people said I’m
ducking him. I just really am not ducking that little dude. I like
the fight for me, there’s multiple ways to win. I’m excited about
the fight now, finally. I was never ducking him, I was just never
excited to fight him. He’s such a… I don’t know. Now, is it the
right time. It’s like the ‘Chito’ rematch. The time will come when
it’s the right time to fight certain people. Merab’s next and be
careful what you wish for, buddy. Careful what you wish for.”