Michael Bisping calls shenanigans on Merab Dvalishvili’s game plan for Sean O’Malley.
Dvalishvili is expected to challenge bantamweight champion O’Malley later this year, but has yet to receive a contract, he said. O’Malley mentioned on a recent episode of his “Timbo Sugar Show” podcast that the fight will likely take place in Las Vegas – either at Sphere in September, or T-Mobile Arena in December.
Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is excited to finally fight O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), and went as far as to claim he’ll stand and trade with him. O’Malley knocked out Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling to become champion in August 2023.
“This is my dream fight and the perfect time to fight him,” Dvalishvili said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “What’s going to happen is now I’m going to show everybody my striking. Yeah, I have wrestling, but now I want to prove my striking. And I want to go punch his face because he thinks I’m going to wrestle him. No, I’m going to punch.”
Co-host Anthony Smith responded by saying, “I don’t believe you,” prompting Bisping to agree emphatically: “Thank you! I was going to say: Merab, you are full of sh*t.”
Dvalishvili appeared to walk back his comments by acknowledging where his strengths lie. Dvalishvili was able to outgrapple Olympic gold medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo in his most recent outing at UFC 298 in February, taking him down five times.
He also paid O’Malley a lot of respect as an opponent.
“Technically, you’re right,” Dvalishvili admitted. “Stylistically, I have to beat him wrestling, good cardio, close the distance, and clinch. … I have to respect his striking, but I believe in myself. I respect all my opponents, especially him. He is the champion, he has the confidence, he has the reach, he has experience, he has knockout power, he has good technique, a good coach, but I have to beat his coach too.”
