Merab Dvalishvili understands how the game works.
MMA is a sport that’s built on wins and losses almost as much as popularity and hype. Some fighters like UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley find fame quicker than most and those athletes get a bigger push from a promotion like the UFC while others have to work twice as hard to get noticed.
Put Dvalishvili into that latter category after he had to rattle off 10 wins in a row including three victories over former UFC champions to finally get his own chance at winning a title. He’s not bitter about the road he had to travel to get here but Dvalishvili knows it’s going to mean that much more when he finally puts that gold belt around his waist.
“I will be so proud,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting. “Because I know I don’t get nothing handed to me. I had to work for everything that I got and I will be very proud. I’m already proud of myself and I know and all the true MMA fans know. I’m here and fighting hard. I don’t have pressure or anything. It will be special for me. But first I have to win this fight.
“This is a tough challenge for me. Sean O’Malley is a good fighter and that’s why I always wanted to fight him. I want to win this fight and I want to be organic. I don’t want to overthink. I don’t want to be cocky. First I have to win this fight and after we can talk. One thing is for sure, I’m working hard and I’m very hungry.”
In the days and weeks leading up to the fight, Dvalishvili has displayed a lot of confidence that he’s going to become champion but he’s also acknowledged that O’Malley isn’t just going to roll over and play dead.
On the flipside, O’Malley has continuously promised that he’s going to deliver a first-round knockout and Dvalishvili says he’s heard over and over again how he’s going to get dispatched just like Aljamain Sterling.
O’Malley finished Sterling inside two rounds to win the UFC title but Dvalishvili reminds the always outspoken and colorful champion that as much as he values his friend and teammates, they’re not the same fighters.
“That’s their problem — they are too cocky,” Dvalishvili said. “Even Sean told me during the faceoff [at a promotional shoot for UFC 306], he told me ‘what’s going to be different between you and Aljo? I’m going to knock you out the same thing.’ First of all, you don’t knock Aljo out. Yes, you dropped him and Marc Goddard stopped the fight early. Second of all, every fight is different. If you fought Aljo 10 more times, I believe he will beat you nine times. Same thing with me.
“Don’t underestimate me. I’m a fighter. I’m here. Hard work got me here and you’ve got to show me respect. If you don’t show me respect, see what I did against Petr Yan? I’m going to do the same thing against Sean O’Malley. Same thing, [Yan] didn’t show me respect and I’m going to be rude. I’m going to make him humble. I don’t like these bully people. I don’t like these people who look over you. They look on top, they think they are better than you but we are the same. We’re fighters. Maybe I’m even better than him so we will find out soon.”
On paper the UFC 306 main event looks like the classic “striker versus grappler” matchup with O’Malley preferring to stay on his feet to deliver punches and Dvalishvili employing a high-paced wrestling based offense that suffocates his opponents.
But Dvalishvili believes deep down inside that his own striking arsenal is being vastly underrated by O’Malley and his camp heading into the fight. In fact, Dvalishvili made quite a bold prediction about how that’s going to come back to bite them.
“I want to knock Sean O’Malley out,” Dvalishvili declared. “I will knock him out. You guys will be surprised. Watch this fight and you guys will see. I know people think I’m a grappler. You guys will see. I’m going to show different skills. I’m going to knock him out. I’m going to outstrike him. You guys will see. I’m going to f*ck the shit out of him, too. You will see.”
Of course, Dvalishvili isn’t going to reveal his full strategy for the fight but he’s been working tirelessly to ensure he has a few new toys to play with come Saturday night and that includes “Mexican style” boxing to surprise O’Malley on the feet.
Maybe it’s just mental warfare to make O’Malley forget about the way Dvalishvili goes for takedowns like he’s mashing the same button over and over again in a game of Mortal Kombat.
Then again, Dvalishvili might just believe that O’Malley’s hubris really will come back to bite him.
“One thing is for sure, I’m working hard and I’m very hungry,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I’m telling you I’m looking for the knockout and don’t be surprised if I knock him out.”
