Sean O'Malley thinks Merab Dvalishvili is crying for attention.
O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is slated to challenge Dvalishvili’s teammate, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 headliner Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston.
O’Malley faced off with Sterling immediately after “The Funkmaster” retained his title against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288. During the faceoff, O’Malley took his red jacket and accidentally handed it off to Dvalishvili, who has been rocking it ever since. “The Suga Show” sees Dvalishvili’s gimmick as the only thing working for him.
“That sucks, though. Merab’s bea good guys, he’s had a good career, and no one gives a f*ck,” O’Malley said on “The Timbo Sugar Show.” “The most exciting thing to ever happen to him was me giving him my jacket to hold, and it’s like he’s running – he bought a replica, he’s wearing it, he’s trying to do as many interviews as he can. He’s like, ‘Holy f*ck, this is what it feels like to have anyone give a f*ck about me.’ It’s like, dude, that was three weeks ago, bud. Take it off. It’s not even the real one. It’s the f*cking fake one that you bought, bud.”
Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has been on a role at bantamweight, but his unwillingness to fight his teammate Sterling has kept him out of the title picture. “The Machine” recently underwent hand surgery and is willing to fight Cejudo upon his return after being continuously called out by the former UFC dual champion.