UFC lightweight division number two Merab Dvalishvili admits that he may have to share the octagon with his friend, top-ranked Aljamain Sterling.
“We’ve never received any offers from the UFC to fight each other,” the Georgian fighter said on another edition of The MMA Hour program. “I don’t understand why they complain about us not fighting. Yes, of course, I said I don’t want to fight Aljo, and I really don’t want to do it. But, if the UFC offers good money for this fight and we’re in a situation where we don’t have anyone to fight, then maybe Aljo and I will discuss it and fight.”
“Now they are making a big deal out of it, but the fact is that Aljo has been busy all the time. First the fight with Peter Yan, then the fight with T.J. Dillashaw, then the fight with Henry Cejudo, then they made him come back quickly and gave him Sean O’Malley, but they never offered him me and I was never offered to fight Aljo. So, I don’t understand why people are complaining. Of course, I’m not looking forward to fighting Aljoe, but like Aljoe said in the interview, if the UFC offers good money and there’s no other options, we’ll do it”
That said, Dvalishvili remains convinced he should be the next opponent for Sean O’Malley, who took the championship belt from Sterling in August, finishing him by TKO in the second round.
“I’m going on a nine-fight win streak and I’ve beaten two former champions. I beat Petr Yan – the guy who beat O’Malley. If O’Malley wants a real contender, a real challenger, if he wants respect, he should fight me. If I’m not the next title fight, I’ll be heartbroken, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve always accepted what the UFC gives me and that’s not going to change.”
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32795-merab-dvalishvili-gotov-dratsya-s-aldzhamejnom-sterlingom.html?rand=19907
