Joe Rogan on How Sean O’Malley Can Open Up Road to Double Champ Status if Merab Dvalishvili Bites Dust

Sean O’Malley recently defended his bantamweight championship going toe-to-toe with Marlon Vera. ‘Suga’ was able to finally claim a victory with a dominant performance over the only man to have ever defeated him in a matchup. However, his choice of fighter for the next battle was a bit unexpected.

‘Suga’ defeated ‘Chito’ via a unanimous decision and then from the cage, he called out none other than the featherweight champion of the world, Ilia Topuria. But that’s only after his very first title defense. Now, here’s Joe Rogan‘s verdict on the number 1 contender, Merab Dvalishivli who was left disappointed after the fight.

Joe Rogan chimes in regarding Sean O’Malley’s future

Joe Rogan is an observer of the UFC like no other. He is literally by cageside as the fights happen and he’s often interviewing fighters after they win or lose. Rogan was there when Sean O’Malley called out Ilia Topuria for the double-belt winning fight.

As ‘Suga’ called out ‘El Matador’, Merab Dvalishvili, who was watching from the stands could be seen throwing his arms up in frustration. He’s the one supposed to be next in line. He’s the one who should have the shot. And yet, he was never mentioned. In a recent edition of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan talked about the whole situation.

“‘Suga’ Sean said he wanted to go up and fight Topuria but Topuria said no I want you to fight Merab who’s also from Georgia just like Ilia is born in Georgia and Merab’s the rightful guy that should be fighting at 35.” Rogan said. “So that’s going to happen there but if Sean gets past Merab, you could see a world where they can make a a champion versus championship fight at 145.”

Clearly, the UFC color commentator is of the opinion that ‘The Machine’ should get his rightful shot at being the new bantamweight champion. And as he mentioned, yes, Topuria asked O’Malley to first fight Dvalishvili, and thankfully for the Georgian, O’Malley is back on track with him now.

O’Malley addresses the Dvalishvili fight

Sean O’Malley, in his own words, wasn’t excited enough to fight Merab Dvalishvili. He was accused by many of “ducking” the Georgian fighter but in his own words, he was “never ducking him”. Nevertheless, after Topuria’s quick rejection, perhaps the bantamweight champion was left with no choices.

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He announced that he is now happy to take on Merab Dvalishvili. He told him that his wish was granted and that he would get his much-deserved title shot next. Dvalishvili was last seen carrying and taking down Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

‘The Machine’ managed to win the fight via a unanimous decision in what was a landslide victory for him. Now, perhaps it’s time to start preparing for his title shot against Sean O’Malley.

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