[ Ilia Topuria is open to a future champion-vs-champion showdown with Sean O’Malley, but not just yet. After O’Malley (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defended his bantamweight title for the first time with a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera in Saturday’s UFC 299 headliner at Kaseya Center in Miami, he called out featherweight titleholder Topuria, … Read more
[ MIAMI – The official UFC 299 weigh-ins take place Friday at the host hotel, and MMA Junkie will be onsite as all 28 fighters (plus one backup) hit the scales ahead of Saturday’s event at Kaseya Center. Among those weighing in will be UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who faces … Read more
[ Should something go wrong in the final hours ahead of the UFC 299 main event, Merab Dvalishvili will be ready to step in for his long-awaited shot at gold. The pay-per-view event taking place March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O’Malley and challenger … Read more
[ It took a while for Merab Dvalishvili to get Sean O’Malley’s attention. Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is on a 10-fight winning streak, most recently overwhelming former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. He was declared as No. 1 contender by UFC CEO Dana White. UFC bantamweight champion O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) … Read more
[ Now the No. 1 contender at bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili is looking ahead at how he matches up against the UFC 299 headliners. Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) makes his first title defense in a rematch against Marlon Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC) on March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Like many rising … Read more
[ Henry Cejudo predicts Merab Dvalishvili will become UFC champion no matter whom it’s against. After rallying to overwhelm Cejudo at UFC 298, Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is expected to challenge the winner of the bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera, which headlines UFC 299 on March 9. Having experienced … Read more
[ Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has revealed that Henry Cejudo fought Merab Dvalishvili while injured. Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili at UFC 298. After winning Round 1, Cejudo was visibly tired after being outgrappled by Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for the rest of the fight. UFC bantamweight … Read more
[ Share this article share tweet text email link on Facebook on Twitter via text message on LinkedIn via email https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2024/02/ufc-298-video-reaction-merab-dvalishvili-next-bantamweight-title-challenger February 22, 2024 7:40 pm ET Merab Dvalishvili might’ve made the biggest overall splash last week at UFC 298. Yes, Ilia Topuria claimed gold, but Dvalishvili won over the crowd leading up to his … Read more
[ Ray Longo praised his star students, Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling, for never fighting each other. When Sterling was bantamweight champion, streaking contender Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) refused to fight his teammate for the title, which UFC CEO Dana White heavily criticized. But after Sterling lost his bantamweight title and moved up to … Read more
[ Fighting Ilia Topuria gets Sean O’Malley a lot more excited than facing Merab Dvalishvili. O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) has been calling to fight Topuria, who claimed the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. On the same night, Dvalishvili outlasted former dual champion Henry Cejudo in an impressive showing. But … Read more
