Merab Dvalishvili has a natural passion for fighting that has allowed him to carve out a path where many see him as the best bantamweight fighter in MMA history. Heading into his sophomore title defense this weekend as he prepares to run things back in a rematch with Sean O’Malley, Dvalishvili radiated gratitude for what he is able to do for a living. The reigning kingpin of 135 pounds addressed several subjects to on-site media members at the fight week media day before the two warriors get locked into the octagon for the pay-per-view headliner at UFC 316 which is set to transpire in Newark.
When addressing his passion for the career path of being a high level combat sports athlete while offering insights into how he sees this seuqle clash with ‘Suga’ playing out, Merab Dvalishvili said.
“I love training and fighting. Everybody knows I’m always training—even on vacation, I’m still running and doing my best. Every time I have a fight in the UFC, I’m blessed. I’m happy to be busy and have the best job in the world. After this fight, I want to test a new weight-cutting style to make it even easier for me to fight often.”
“Every fight is a risk, and life is a risk. If I lose and don’t get an immediate rematch, I don’t care—I just want to fight and be busy. I believe I can beat Sean again, and I’m looking to do it in even more dominant fashion. How dangerous he is excites me more.”
Merab Dvalishvili contemplates next opponent post-UFC 316
Merab Dvalishvili seems locked into the task at hand this weekend as he looks to garner a second win over the former UFC bantamweight champion in Sean O’Malley but he is not obtuse to who the likely next title challenger will be if Dvalishvili emerges victorious on Saturday. The Georgian fighter touted Cory Sandhagen as the likely next title challenger and praised the talented bantamweight fighter for having a skillset that should lead to an exciting future contest for the fans. Ultimately though, Dvalishvili stated that it is the UFC’s call and as the champion, he will fight whoever the promotion decides is next up.
