Dvalishvili says he'd be ready for December fight vs. O'Malley
Merab Dvalishvili will be available to challenge for the UFC bantamweight title before the end of 2023 if the opportunity presents itself.
Dvalishvili, who's recovering from a hand injury, told TSN's Aaron Bronsteter on Wednesday he's open to facing newly crowned champion Sean O'Malley in December. UFC 296, scheduled for Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, doesn't have a main event.
"1,000%, I'll be ready," Dvalishvili said. "I will be ready, yes. My hand is still - the doctor just told me I can start training, I can start slowly punching and grappling. But even if the fight was next month, I will be ready. Because I don't care. I'm just going to ignore the pain, and I'm just going to fight. Definitely, December, I will be ready if this fight will happen. I would love to fight (O'Malley)."
Dvalishvili, the No. 2-ranked bantamweight, suffered a hand injury two weeks before his win over former champ Petr Yan in March. He re-injured his hand during the fight.
The Georgian fighter was in Aljamain Sterling's corner for Sterling's title defense against O'Malley at UFC 292 last weekend in Boston. O'Malley won the title by second-round TKO and called out Marlon Vera in his postfight interview. Vera, ranked No. 6, beat Pedro Munhoz on the UFC 292 undercard and holds a 2020 win over O'Malley. But Vera is just one bout removed from a lopsided loss to Cory Sandhagen, while Dvalishvili has won nine in a row dating back to 2018.
O'Malley has suggested he wants to make his first title defense in December, but it wasn't clear until Wednesday whether Dvalishvili would be ready in time to take the fight.
Dvalishvili said O'Malley should either fight him or grant Sterling an immediate rematch. Sterling, who had been champion since March 2021, has the most consecutive title defenses in UFC bantamweight history (three).
"Me and Aljo, we are the best here in this division," Dvalishvili said while addressing his message to O'Malley. "(Don't fight) somebody from outside the top five or not guys who are coming from the loss. I have a nine-fight winning streak. Everybody knows I'm a real contender. ... Please stop looking for easy fights. You are a champion now. Respect yourself, respect the UFC, and respect people who watch UFC."