“Yes, I saw what he said, but it was not the first time,” Dvalishvili said in the next edition of the MMA Hour program. “The first time it happened was when I beat Jose Aldo. Then I said that I would not fight Aljo, and Dana White told my trainer that I should not say such things.
“After that matchmaker Sean Shelby said he couldn’t give me a fight with Sean O’Malley, Marlon Vera, Corey Sandhagen and even Petr Yan because if I beat them I wouldn’t fight my friend for the title. I was very upset, but fortunately, Peter insisted on this fight and they gave it to me. I was happy and appreciate it”
According to Dvalishvili, not only is he not going to fight Sterling, but he also abandoned the idea of a Candidates match with the winner of the duel between Sandhagen and Vera, which he mentioned after defeating Jan.
“I understand business, but Aljamain Sterling is my friend and brother. He has a fight scheduled, he will fight Henry Cejudo, and I will be back in the gym in a week and help him prepare. I think after that he will beat O’Malley and then move up. If he does that, I will fight for the title, but for now I’m going to wait. I beat Jan who beat Sandhagen and beat Aldo who beat Chito. I don’t have to prove that I’m better than these guys, so I’d rather wait.”
However, the Georgian fighter made it clear that the fight against Sterling has a price.
“If they want me to fight Aljo, they can pay me ten billion dollars and then I will be ready.”
Recall that the fight in the bantamweight division between Peter Yan and Merab Dvalishvili, who headed the UFC Fight Night 221 tournament in Las Vegas, went the whole distance and ended with the defeat of the Russian by unanimous decision with a score of 50-45 three times.