By all accounts, Merab Dvalishvili should be fighting for the bantamweight title next. Instead, he’s facing Henry Cejudo in a potential No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 298.
Despite his remarkable nine-fight win streak, which includes victories over former UFC champions Petr Yan and Jose Aldo, the Georgian native was left on the outside looking in when the promotion put together the next title bout at 135 pounds. New champion Sean O’Malley instead called for a fight against Marlon “Chito” Vera, who is the only person to hold a win over him in the UFC, and that wish was ultimately granted.
It didn’t matter that Vera had only won a single fight in a row or that he already owned losses to Aldo and Cory Sandhagen. Vera’s past victory over O’Malley and the simmering rivalry between them trumped everything else, so Dvalishvili was left sitting on the sidelines and hoping that a 10th consecutive win would finally allow him the same opportunity.
Truth be told, Dvalishvili wasn’t all that surprised. O’Malley didn’t hold a win over anybody on the active UFC roster before he was placed in a marquee fight against Yan, and then was granted a title shot after his first and only victory over a ranked opponent.
“He was fighting people outside the top 15, and the only people in the top 10 he fought [was] Petr Yan,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting. “Me and so many people thought Petr Yan won this fight. A split decision, a couple people think O’Malley win, and after this, they just save O’Malley and they let him wait, come here and fight for the title. He used his chance good and became champion. They gave him time again [before fighting Vera].
“I destroyed Petr. I dominated him, but nobody gave me this chance. It’s all good. I just have to focus on myself and that’s all I can control is myself.”
Time and time again, the ability to grab attention with the potential to sell pay-per-views often puts bigger names in title fights while more deserving contenders are left waiting. Belal Muhammad experienced that recently when his 10-fight unbeaten streak was ignored in favor of Colby Covington, who sat out for nearly two years, held a 2-2 record in his past four fights, and whose recent wins came against opponents no longer on the UFC roster.
Dvalishvili isn’t necessarily surprised or angered by the way the UFC picks and chooses fights, although he certainly wishes he got that same kind of consideration.
“Let’s put it this way — they push [Alex] Pereira,” Dvalishvili explained. “Pereira is a good fighter but we all know he doesn’t have wrestling. If Pereira fights anybody with good wrestling, everybody will beat Pereira. But they pushed Pereira and Pereira becomes champion.
“If somebody gave me the chance five years ago to fight for the UFC title, maybe I would become champion five years ago, but nobody gave me [that] because I don’t have the hype. Just because somebody has hype, they should not give them a chance at the title. I don’t like when they push fighters who only have a couple fights and they let them fight top contenders.”
Regardless of how the past played out, Dvalishvili won’t lose sight on what’s directly in front of him — and that’s a former two-division UFC champion in Cejudo.
Of course, the 33-year-old bantamweight allowed himself a few minutes of frustration after learning that Vera would get the title shot ahead of him, but he hasn’t lost sight of the bigger picture ahead of his fight on Saturday.
“I was upset,” Dvalishvili said. “It’s hard for me because when I was fighting Jose Aldo, I knew that it was that was a No. 1 contender fight. If Jose Aldo beats me, he was supposed to fight for the title because he was coming [from a] three [fight] win streak. He beat ‘Chito’ and two other contenders. After that, I understand my friend [Aljamain Sterling] was champion and nobody offered me the fight. I don’t want to fight him but nobody offered me the fight. That’s OK, that was fine. I was waiting. I knew Aljo was going up and everything was fine. After that I beat Petr Yan, and I proved again [that] I deserved a title shot.
“In the end, O’Malley called out the No. 6 [ranked] guy and it was hard, so now I guess they’re looking for numbers. It’s a more favorable match for O’Malley. I’m guessing that’s why it’s happening. I moved on, I’m a fighter. Who am I to complain about it? I’ve always been fighting whoever is in front of me and that’s what I’m going to do.”
That being said, Dvalishvili made it clear that there’s no other option for him after beating Cejudo than fighting for UFC gold. He’s been a team player this entire time, but he’s looking out for No. 1 after UFC 298.
“After this, that’s it,” Dvalishvili said. “Title fight is next. I’m not going to look at any other bulls*** fights. I’m just going to take what is mine. I deserve it. After I fight Henry Cejudo, I will be the No. 1 contender for the title and I’m not fighting any other bulls*** fight.”
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