The noble Merab
Dvalishvili would rather go out on his shield whenever
possible.
Winner of 10 straight in the talent-rich bantamweight division,
Dvalishvili (17-4) will get a crack at the title held by Sean
O’Malley (18-1, 1 NC) at
UFC 306. While friend and training partner Aljamain
Sterling held the strap from 2021 to 2023, the pathway is now
open for the Georgian to pursue undisputed gold. He will try to do
so in the main attraction of the card titled “Noche UFC,” which
takes place on Sep. 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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When Sterling was dethroned by O’Malley at UFC 292 in September, he
immediately protested his knockout loss to referee Marc
Goddard, proclaiming it was too early. Dvalishvili watched that
result closely, and vows to prove that O’Malley “got lucky” putting
away “Funk Master,” with a light touch from Goddard. “The Machine”
told The Schmo on
Sunday that he prefers his fight handled a bit differently.
“I’m going to beat Sean
O’Malley,” Dvalishvili confidently stated, “and I’m
going to show the MMA fans that he got lucky because he has referee
Marc
Goddard. Because Marc
Goddard, we all know he likes to stop fights early.”
Dvalishvili claims he gives clear instructions to referees ahead of
his fights, requesting that they let him get knocked or choked
unconscious rather than risk an early stoppage. The Georgian
contender explained that he needs no saving from the referee, as he
goes in prepared to “die.” He proudly represents a similar but less
severe mindset to Pride Fighting Championships pioneer Akira Shoji,
who famously went so far as to clean his house and prepare his will
prior to every match in case he did not survive.
“For example, even when I was fighting Marlon
Moraes, I tell referee before, ‘Hey, I might get caught, but
please don’t stop fight. I’d rather go sleep, I’d rather go out,
then stop me later, then don’t stop me.’ And [Keith] Peterson, he’s
a good referee. He usually never stops early fighters. He gives
fighters chance to fight. So, I tell him, ‘Hey, please let me fight
until I die, until I go sleep.’… Doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, I
tell referee, ‘I’d rather go out than you stop me early and save
me. Save me from what? I’m here to die, I’m a fighter. I’d rather
sleep, it’s okay,’” the 33-year-old called “The Machine” concluded.