'It's hard for him': Merab Dvalishvili on whether fight with Aljamain Sterling could ever happen

With a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, Bantamweight fighter Merab Dvalishvili evinced why he is the No.1 ranked professional in the 135 lbs segment. It is a palpable realisation among the experts and knowers of the game that he is the undisputed contender for the Bantamweight title strap. In relation to that, social media trade-offs with the current champion of the concerned division, Sean O'Malley, may shape into an Octagon meet soon. According to many assertions, UFC 306 is seen as the event when the grand fight between O'Malley and Merab could take place. While nothing is concrete regarding that, to put some clarity on the opaqueness, the protagonist of the potential clash himself, Merab Dvalishvili, addressed the questions about the same when he recently visited India and held a media interaction.

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Merab Dvalishvili on whether a fight with Aljamain Sterling could ever happen

A barrage of questions was thrown in front of him from different media houses, and being the talisman of his division, Merab addressed each one of them. Republicworld.com also featured in the hunt to satiate the curiosity but we were more eager to hear out his thoughts on what appears to be a closed chapter now. Back in 2023, when Aljamain Sterling was the king of the Bantamweight division, speculations were rife about Merab being the next in line to face the Funkmaster. Being a friend and teammate of Sterling, Merab made it known that he wouldn't want to take on Sterling. The Machine's response sparked debate among the members of the MMA fraternity, but when Sterling lost the title strap to Sean O'Malley all the possibilities of a Sterling vs Dvalishvili for the championship, Friend vs Friend, died down. We decided to exhume the buried subject and asked Merab whether him vs Aljamain Sterling could still happen in the future. Sterling was clear in his stance and stated a definite, “No.”

"No, my friend because he changed weight class already and he is fighting in a different weight class and I am fighting now same weight class. Aljamain Sterling has a new challenge. He wants to become champion in a different weight class now. It's hard for him to cut weight. It always was hard to cut weight for him but now he's getting big and I don't think we will have this problem anymore of fighting each other. "

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Thoughts on Sean O'Malley as a fighter

After being fed with the lucid approach on a possible in-ring contest with Aljamain Sterling, we joined the throng and asked him what are his genuine thoughts on Sean O'Malley as a fighter. Though, both have been a part of a Twitter (lately known as X) tussle, Merab showcased respect toward the fight acumen of O'Malley and acknowledged him as the champion.

"He is a good fighter, he is a good striker and he can knock people out. He is very smart, he has good footwork and he's a dangerous, dangerous fighter. He is the champion now, he's the champion."

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