Merab Dvalishvili sounds off on the idea of Marlon Vera getting the first crack at newly crowned bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley: “He’s not even top 5”
Merab Dvalishvili has lashed out at the idea of Marlon Vera being the first man to challenge Sean O’Malley for the title.
Last weekend, Sean O’Malley defeated Aljamain Sterling to capture the UFC bantamweight championship. In doing so, he put a target on his back – and many 135 pounders are ready to step up to the plate.
That includes Merab Dvalishvili, a man who has been riding a fantastic win streak as of late. His most recent victory came against Petr Yan, with many believing that was enough to earn him a crack at the belt.
However, O’Malley has come out and said that he’d like to take on former foe Marlon “Chito” Vera in December. In response, Merab had the following to say in a recent interview.
Dvalishvili lays down the law
“Chito is joke, he’s not even top five, man. He got dominated [by] Cory Sandhagen right before. Now, he’s coming from a boring fight and winning [against Pedro Munhoz]. Everybody agrees that he doesn’t deserve title fight, and everybody knows that I beat two former champions back to back. Jose Aldo beat Chito Vera, and Petr Yan beat Cory Sandhagen, Cory Sandhagen beat Chito Vera.
“If O’Malley don’t wanna wait, or for some reason he’s gonna fight somebody else, then I am the next guy. There is no one else other than Aljo who should fight O’Malley. They is no one else. O’Malley should fight either Aljo or me.”
Nobody can deny that Merab Dvalishvili is a top bantamweight contender. At this stage, all we can really do is sit back and wait to see what “Suga” does next.
Do you believe Merab Dvalishvili will get the shot ahead of Marlon Vera? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!
