Former Champ Defends Merab Against Jon Jones-Like Accusation: ‘Makes No Sense’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is stepping up to defend his friend and teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, against recent fan accusations. Some have compared Merab’s fight strategy to Jon Jones, implying that despite holding the title, Dvalishvili is pursuing matchups with fighters who aren’t the top contenders in the division. 

Sterling , however, was quick to dismiss this comparison, calling it unfair and misguided. In a recent tweet, Sterling explained that Merab has always taken on tough challenges and that the Jon Jones-like accusations simply “make no sense“. 

He believes Merab is focused on proving himself, not cherry-picking fights, and that certain factors that are not in his control should not be held against him.

A Twitter account posted a picture of Merab and Jones with a caption that said, “Smile if you ducked the #1 contender in your division”. 

Jon Jones has famously been on the receiving end of anger from fans for ducking interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and booking a fight with Stipe Miocic instead.

Therefore, fans feel Merab is taking a similar approach by avoiding Umar Nurmagomeodv and chasing other fights in the bantamweight division. Sterling jumped in to save his friend saying,

“You guys are exhausting. Constantly repeating stuff that makes NO sense. He just won the belt. Merab is Christian, not Muslim. Making one man’s religious beliefs the cause for “ducking” is baffling. How the heck is that Merab’s fault?? Make it make sense..That’s right, you can’t!”

The issue here is that Merab is targeting a return next year in March for his first title defense. This timeline does not work for Nurmagomedov as he is a devout Muslim and March is the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. 

‘Young Eagle’ shares his thoughts on a ‘bad’ situation 

Back at UFC 306 in September, Dvalishvili put on a dominant performance, outworking Sean O’Malley to capture the bantamweight title. But Nurmagomedov, who secured his spot as the next title challenger after defeating Cory Sandhagen, isn’t happy with how Dvalishvili is handling things.

In a recent interview, the Dagestani bantamweight criticized both O’Malley’s performance, and Dvalishvili for seemingly avoiding him. He pointed out that Dvalishvili wants to fight in March, which falls during Ramadan, making it impossible for him to compete.

He believes the Georgian is intentionally stalling. Despite this, Nurmagomedov is eager to stay active and hopes for a fight before Ramadan. Currently, he is slated to fight on December 14 in Tampa, Florida against Song Yadong.