Home » UFC » Exclusive: Merab Dvalishvili keen on facing Sean O’Malley and predicts Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan

Merab Dvalishvili explained why he still wanted to get into the ring with Sean O’Malley next

Merab Dvalishvili had a lot to get off his chest while speaking exclusively on the Schmozone podcast.

The Bantamweight star is on a five-fight win streak and just wanted to get another clash under his belt. The 29-year-old last defeated John Dodson at UFC 252 and had called out Sean O’Malley in the past.

Sean O'Malley lost his fight against Marlon Vera
Marlon Vera (L) of Ecuador punches Sean O’Malley in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

O’Malley was undefeated coming into his clash against Marlon Vera but suffered an ankle injury before getting beaten up by Chito.

While O’Malley has claimed that he was still undefeated, his record shows 12-1. However, Dvalishvili also didn’t consider that loss for O’Malley and wanted to fight Sugar:

“I do want to fight him, he lost but that was a weird fight. It was an accident, he had ankle damage or something.

“We don’t really see what happened and I would like to challenge myself against him.

“We are in the same weight class and it is going to be a good match-up because he is a good striker and I am more of grappling, so we will see.”

O’Malley doesn’t believe he picked up a serious injury, and this could be a fantastic fight if it is set up.

Backing Aljo for the gold

Aljamain Sterling was another topic brought up by the hosts. The Funk Master is to fight Petr Yan for the Bantamweight title and Dvalishvili was asked about his teammate.

The Georgian was asked if Sterling was ready to become the champion, and Dvalishvili claimed the Funk Master was more than ready:

“100% he is the man. Petr Yan is 100% talented, he’s strong but Aljamain is another level, and especially now, how he’s training, how he looks things and he has the best grappling game and best MMA technique.”

Dvalishvili spoke about how sparring with others was easy when compared to training with Sterling.

Merab Dvalishvili got the win at UFC Las Vegas 2
Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia takes down Gustavo Lopez in their fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 13, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The UFC star also believed that Sterling’s grappling would be the game-changer in all this.

The Georgian added that he learned a lot of stuff in his MMA career while sparring with Sterling. Funk Master has been incredible in his recent fights and it things go his way, the belt could be coming his way soon.

This was an exclusive interview from The Schmozone Podcast. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link

More UFC news

Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates