LAS VEGAS – UFC 306 was a stage for Merab Dvalishvili not only to display his championship-level skills, but also his showmanship, as well.
Moments after the opening bell that would mark the start of his five-round unanimous decision win Saturday over Sean O'Malley at Sphere, Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and the opposing corner were warned by referee Herb Dean about a verbal exchange – a rare occurrence.
“I’m a professional fighter,” Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “I’m focused and it never happens to me. I never pay attention to other corner. But Tim’s voice was very familiar because he was doing the same thing to (Aljamain Sterling). There’s the clip on social media everybody saw that. He was doing the same thing. He was doing already, disrespectful, ‘Merab, you’ve got to go.’
