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Merab Dvalishvili is undefeated in 10 fights in the UFC, with his last loss coming to Ricky Simon in 2018, and when asked about his winning streak, the Georgian American said he wasn’t focused on that, but on his upcoming fight against Sean. O’Mailey.
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Next September, UFC No. 1 bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili could face arguably his biggest challenge of his mixed martial arts career when he faces current champion Sean O’Mailey. The build-up to the fight in Las Vegas in September has been quite something, with Merab following his victory over Henry Cejudo, the former bantamweight and flyweight champion, at UFC 298.
Meanwhile, in August of last year, Sean O’Maley got the better of Aljamain Sterling via technical knockout, and most recently, he defeated Marlon Vera via unanimous decision.
Merab is undefeated in 10 fights in the UFC, with his last loss coming against Ricky Simon in 2018, and when asked about his winning streak, the Georgian American said he is not focused on that, but his next fight against O’. Mailey.
“I have a ten-fight winning streak, but I’m not focused on a winning streak. You know, I’m just focused on my next fight and winning. It’s not extra pressure. I’m fighting Sean O’Malley and I have to do my best to beat this guy. And I believe I can beat him. Yes, he is a good striker, a good champion, but I can beat him,” the 33-year-old said during a virtual media interaction organized by Sony Sports Network recently.
The two men have been heavily involved in an intense war of words, particularly on social media. But Merab is ready for battle. “It’s good, he finally said my name and now we’re going to fight.” Because I’ve been calling him for six years, and he’s ignoring me, dodging me, and now he finally wants to fight me, it feels good.
“We can talk, we can make fun of each other, he can make fun of my nose, but when I beat him, I will be victorious. I don’t care what he should call me. I’m going to steal his belts and his fans, everything,” the Georgia-born athlete added.
O’Mailey, ranked sixth, is the last big name Merab will face. He beat big names like 2023 UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo, and former champion Petr Yan. For Merab, fighting these big names is a “dream come true.”
“It’s a dream come true, man, fighting these legends like Henry Cejudo, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan. These are big fights and winning them is important for me, for my country and for my team. Anything is possible, man. I work hard and hard work pays off. I’m just grateful to be where I am now and to continue my journey,” commented Merab.
“I want to tire him out and then I want to knock him out the Mexican way, you know, boxing. I want to show the world that my boxing is also good by knocking out this guy and making my Mexican people proud,” he continued.
