UFC Bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley & his bitter rival Merab Dvalishvili are the chosen ones to headline the promotion’s maiden live event at the coveted Sphere in Vegas. As the challenger remains locked and loaded for the biggest fight of his career, ‘Suga‘ acknowledged the toughness of his Georgian opponent all the while a bold reminder about his patented right hand.
Speaking to Red Corner MMA prior to Saturday’s epic MMA circus, the champ took a cheeky dig at ‘The Machine,’ subtly mocking his lackluster decision-filled record while remaining confident in his skill.
“It’s like you can be so boring for so long, it becomes interesting, you can beat so many people in boring ways that it becomes interesting. That’s what he has done. You know decision, decision, decision, decision, decision, now it’s like, ‘Oh, sh*t, can anybody beat him?”
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Well, one cannot argue with the champion on this one because out of 12 fights in the premier MMA promotion, Dvalishvili has secured only one finish – a sole TKO finish against Marlon Moraes back in 2021. The rest are all decisions with the fighter handing his luck out to the judges.
That said, the 29-year-old champion recognized the Georgian’s skill and tipped his hat for his tenacity but then again reminded him about the nuclear right hand he possessed.
‘It’s like Merab’s tough, I’m not questioning how tough he is, I know he has got heart, he’s where he’s at for a reason. It’s not going to be an easy fight but I can make it look easy because I know what I possess in this right hand baby.”
With O’Malley opening up, sharing his champion mindset, former middleweight king, Israel Adesanya also gave his official UFC 306 main event prediction.
Izzy favors Suga despite Merab’s “Khabib-esque” style
The main event bout on September 14 is a typical striker vs wrestler ordeal with O’Malley earning a solid reputation for his knockout power and Merab renowned for his going-forward pressure wrestling style.
While we are merely days away from the biggest UFC showdown, ex-champion, Israel Adesanya dropped his verdict on his YouTube channel, picking ‘Suga’ to win via TKO!
Now, it’s not like ‘The Last Stylebender’ doesn’t know what he was talking about. In fact, he also broke down his analysis, essentially explaining the chances of both fighters before he picked the American. He called Merab a “mini grizzly bear” out for blood, known to push the pace on his opponents.
“He has a different pace, different cardio, and different energy as well coming forward. ‘Cause Sean can fight moving backwards and sniping. But different cardio as well. If Sean hasn’t felt that. And Sean can fight. I’ve seen him round four, round five; looked clean. But Merab is like Khabib-esque mauler. He’s like a f**king mini Grizzly bear, just on you.”
However, the middleweight also revealed how O’Malley can effectively use his elite striking to KO the challenger. Being a wild man, Izzy pointed out that O’Malley can catch the Georgian with a vicious knee when he shoots for a takedown.
Now, if you were a betting man, who would you be placing on your hard earned money on?
