UFC champion Dvalishvili opens door to O’Malley rematch

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili says there is only one man at 135 pounds who deserves a shot at him: Sean O’Malley.

The Georgian fighter handed O’Malley just the second loss of his mixed martial arts career in September, defeating the former champion via unanimous decision in the UFC 306 main event in Las Vegas, extending his win streak in the organization to 11.

And if he wants to reach 12th place, it will come in the form of a second win over “Suga” – and more specifically, not against the 18-0 victory of Umar Nurmagomedov, who has campaigned to be Dvalishvili’s first defending champion .



“I’m not afraid of anyone, only God,” Dvalishvili said alongside Alexander Volkanovski at a question-and-answer session for fighters at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on the eve of UFC 308 – the 20th time that the fight league visited the United Arab Emirates.

“Where is this guy? He takes [another] battle. He’s scared,” he added of Nurmagomedov, as noted by MMA fights. He’s fighting someone else. Where is [he]? Where is [he]? Tell me. He wants to get knocked out by someone else and then he’ll apologize. He won’t survive this fight. I don’t fight. Dana White and Hunter [Campbell] Decide who I will fight next. I don’t know. I don’t make a decision. I never make a decision.”

That means if his next fight agreement has the name “Nurmagomedov” and not “O’Malley” in it, Dvalishvili will certainly sign his name.

“If Dana White tells me I have to fight Umar, then I’ll fight Umar, okay?” Dvalishvili said. “But you know what? Umar doesn’t deserve to fight me. Sean O’Malley deserves to fight me and I will take him on again. He deserves it and then Umar has to prove it [himself]and I will fight him.”