Although the world of mixed martial arts thrives on rivalries, there are instances where the friendship between two fighters has garnered more attention than their rivalries. Without a doubt, it filled the UFC world with such instances. One of the recent ones was Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling refusing to fight each other owing to their friendship.
Recently, a video of the NCAA DIII finals went viral where two brothers, Nate Lackman, and Matt Lackman grappled for the National title. The video of the fight found its way to Instagram. Without a moment’s delay, the mixed martial arts fans took over the comments section and talked about ‘The Machine’ and ‘Funk Master’. Undeniably, the fans wish to see the two fight for the title.
Fans link NCAA Finals to Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling
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ESPN recently shared the video of the NCAA DIII finals on Instagram. The video showed two brothers fighting for the National Title. Without a doubt, the MMA fans were quick to link the video to Dvalishvili and Sterling, denying fighting each other.
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Moreover, a famed sports consultant, who goes by the name of SkinnyBets, wrote, “Everybody saying Sterling and Merab it’s a big difference from wrestling your brother over punching and kicking them and potentially take years off their careers and tryna knock them out. I would wrestle my brother but fighting is another thing.”
The thread also took a dig at Sterling’s previous fight against TJ Dillashaw. Surprisingly, Sterling replied to the comment with three ‘100’ emojis.
Here is what the other fans had to say:
- Kind of funny that Merab is putting his Friendship with Aljo over his own country. Aljo must be a pretty good friend
- This is a hint for aljo and merab
- Certainly then Aljo and Merab can fight for the title…
- See merab and aljo will be fine!
- But merab won’t fight aljo. Smh
- Aljo is moving up so Merab can fight for the title
- @danawhite send this to merad and sterling
- @merab.dvalishvili needs to fight @funkmastermma . This proves that
- This is exactly how Aljo and Merab should handle it.
- lol this isnt close to mma merab and aljo do this everyday alrdy
‘The Machine’ wouldn’t fight Aljamain Sterling
After securing his commendable win against Petr Yan at the UFC Fight Night 221, the Georgian fighter was another step closer to competing for the bantamweight title. However, ‘The Machine’ did not wish to fight his friend.
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Dvalishvili said, “I understand business, everything, but Aljamain Sterling is my friend and my brother.” Doubtlessly, Sterling had a similar thought. The Georgian also revealed that Sterling was planning to move to a heavier category.
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Do you think Dvalishvili and Sterling should face each other inside the Octagon? Let us know in the comments down below.