Despite a nine-fight win streak, Merab Dvalishvili was overlooked for a bantamweight title fight in favour of Sean O’Malley, and will instead face Henry Cejudo in a potential No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 298.
Merab Dvalishvili should be next in line for the bantamweight title. But, he’s up against Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 instead. A potential No. 1 contender’s bout, it seems.
Dvalishvili’s nine-fight win streak is impressive. He’s beaten former UFC champs Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. Yet, he’s not in the next title bout at 135 pounds. Instead, new champ Sean O’Malley is fighting Marlon “Chito” Vera. The only guy to beat him in the UFC.
Doesn’t matter that Vera’s only won one fight in a row. Or that he’s lost to Aldo and Cory Sandhagen. His past win over O’Malley and their rivalry trumped everything. Dvalishvili? Left on the sidelines. Hoping a 10th win will get him a shot.
Honestly, Dvalishvili wasn’t shocked. O’Malley didn’t have a win over anyone on the active UFC roster before fighting Yan. Then, he got a title shot after beating a ranked opponent. “He was fighting people outside the top 15, and the only people in the top 10 he fought [was] Petr Yan,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting.
He added, “I destroyed Petr. I dominated him, but nobody gave me this chance. It’s all good. I just have to focus on myself and that’s all I can control is myself.”
The ability to sell pay-per-views often puts bigger names in title fights. More deserving contenders wait. Belal Muhammad knows this. His 10-fight unbeaten streak was ignored for Colby Covington. A guy who sat out for nearly two years and held a 2-2 record in his past four fights.
Dvalishvili isn’t necessarily surprised or angered by the UFC’s fight selections. But, he wishes he got the same consideration. “Let’s put it this way — they push [Alex] Pereira,” Dvalishvili explained. “Pereira is a good fighter but we all know he doesn’t have wrestling. If Pereira fights anybody with good wrestling, everybody will beat Pereira. But they pushed Pereira and Pereira becomes champion.
“If somebody gave me the chance five years ago to fight for the UFC title, maybe I would become champion five years ago, but nobody gave me [that] because I don’t have the hype. Just because somebody has hype, they should not give them a chance at the title. I don’t like when they push fighters who only have a couple fights and they let them fight top contenders.”
Regardless of the past, Dvalishvili won’t lose sight of what’s directly in front of him — and that’s a former two-division UFC champion in Cejudo. Sure, he was frustrated when he learned that Vera would get the title shot ahead of him. But, he hasn’t lost sight of the bigger picture ahead of his fight on Saturday.
“I was upset,” Dvalishvili said. “It’s hard for me because when I was fighting Jose Aldo, I knew that it was that was a No. 1 contender fight. If Jose Aldo beats me, he was supposed to fight for the title because he was coming [from a] three [fight] win streak. He beat ‘Chito’ and two other contenders. After that, I understand my friend [Aljamain Sterling] was champion and nobody offered me the fight. I don’t want to fight him but nobody offered me the fight. That’s OK, that was fine. I was waiting. I knew Aljo was going up and everything was fine. After that I beat Petr Yan, and I proved again [that] I deserved a title shot.
“In the end, O’Malley called out the No. 6 [ranked] guy and it was hard, so now I guess they’re looking for numbers. It’s a more favorable match for O’Malley. I’m guessing that’s why it’s happening. I moved on, I’m a fighter. Who am I to complain about it? I’ve always been fighting whoever is in front of me and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Dvalishvili made it clear that there’s no other option for him after beating Cejudo than fighting for UFC gold. He’s been a team player this entire time, but he’s looking out for No. 1 after UFC 298.
“After this, that’s it,” Dvalishvili said. “Title fight is next. I’m not going to look at any other bulls*** fights. I’m just going to take what is mine. I deserve it. After I fight Henry Cejudo, I will be the No. 1 contender for the title and I’m not fighting any other bulls*** fight.”