“I was offered a fight with Umar, but I was injured, and even now I still haven’t healed my hand one hundred percent,” the Georgian fighter said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “I went to the fight with Petr Yan with an injured hand, and there was no point in agreeing to fight Umar on May 13, especially since it was only a week after the Aljo fight. I didn’t have time to fully heal my hand, and I also helped Aljo in preparation for the fight with Cejudo.
“Besides, I respect Umar, but he is number 11 in the ranking and he has only four fights in the UFC. I have eleven fights in the UFC. He is a good fighter, but I think he needs to do more to deserve a fight with the number one in the division, who is on a nine-win streak.”
According to Dvalishvili, he prefers to fight American Corey Sandhagen, who is third in the division.
“I’m ready to fight anytime, I’m ready. Next week I’ll be ready to take on some real contenders like Corey Sandhagen. I was told that he is injured, but I prefer to wait for him, because this is a great fight, and he is a good guy and a great fighter. I respect him and he deserves to fight me.”
However, Merab Dvalishvili’s plans could be changed by a loss to Aljamain Sterling, who is set to defend his UFC bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo this weekend at UFC 288 in Newark. There is no doubt that in the event of the defeat of his friend and sparring partner, the Georgian fighter will try to get a fight with Cejudo and fight for the championship belt.