LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] has wanted to fight [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] for years, and he thinks now makes sense more than ever.
With Louis Smolka out of UFC 264 on July 10, O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) needs a new opponent, and practically every bantamweight in and out of the promotion threw their name in the hat Tuesday.
Among them was Dvalishvili (13-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who’s booked to face former title challenger Marlon Moraes at UFC 266 on Sept. 25, meaning he’s been training and not to mention already on location to take the fight.
“Sure, I’m in here in Vegas training hard, and I always love to take fights,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve been mentioning Sean O’Malley’s name for three years already, so I would love to fight him. He’s a great fighter, and it makes me excited to fight him, so if he wants to fight with me, I’m ready.”
He continued, “One hundred percent I would take the Sean O’Malley fight in 10 days and the Marlon Moraes fight in September. I have time, I’m training smart and hard, and I want both fights.”
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Dvalishvili, No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, thinks he has one of the better cases to get the fight simply because of his resume and where he stands in the division.
“I heard so many guys want to fight him, but I have a name, I’m top 10 (in the UFC rankings),” Dvalishvili said. “It’s Conor McGregor’s fight card, so they need a big name, I guess, because they don’t want a debut guy. I think I have a big name, I’m top 10. If I’m him, I’d take my fight because I’m top 10.”
Unlike most, Dvalishvili respects O’Malley’s skills and knows it would be a stern test just because of their clash of styles.
“I know him from Dana White’s Contender Series, I watched his knockouts, and I said, ‘Wow, this guy is good. I want to fight him,'” Dvalishvili said. “He’s young, he’s a knockout artist, and I’ve always wanted to fight with him because I want to challenge myself. I think stylistically it’s gonna be good because I have more like a grappling style, he’s a good striker, and I’m just gonna mix, test my striking with him.”