UFC 299: Dana White Makes Major Changes for Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera as Merab Dvalishvili Granted His Wish

Merab Dvalishvili might just be having the greatest time. The fighter has just come off a rather dominant win over Henry Cejudo and now, UFC head honcho Dana White has granted him the one thing he desired most with UFC 299 right around the corner.

Dvalishvili is an entertainer by all means. His insane clips and sketches are usually doing the rounds on the internet but this one isn’t a joke. He once called on to the UFC to make him a backup fighter for a title fight and now, perhaps the genie has allowed the Georgian to have what he wanted.

Merab Dvalishvili will weigh in as a backup

For long, Merab Dvalishvili has held that Marlon Vera does not deserve the title shot. However, Vera was the one that Sean O’Malley called out so the two could butt heads for a rematch. After all, ‘Chito’ is the only man to have ever defeated the champ.

“I have no problem to wait,” Dvalishvili said about eventually getting a title fight. “And if they really, really make this fight, at least they should put me as a backup fighter.” Now, it’s become official. He will be weighing in as the backup fighter at the main event and if someone is to pull out, perhaps he’ll get that shot at UFC gold after all.

Do you think he can defeat either of the two fighters? That too so close after his last fight? One could say that Cejud’s performance was completely outshone by the Georgian who, at one point, carried Cejudo on his shoulder to slam him down on the other side of the cage just to show it off to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

There is a showman in Merab Dvalishvili who is only recently started catching fans’ attention. Interestingly, Marlon Vera isn’t the only one he had a bone to pick with. He also issued a command to the first three-divisional MMA champion of the world from ONE Championship. Why? It was all about the money.

Dvalishvili wants Malykhin to respect their deal

Did you that ONE Championship’s triple champ Anatoly Malykhin owes Merab Dvalishvili a huge amount of money? Whether it’s just a joke or no, ‘The Machine’ recently took to his X account to first congratulate ‘Sladkiy’ for his victory over Reinier De Ridder and then demand his money.

Also Read: Ryan Garcia Drags Joe Rogan Into Public Mess as UFC Commentator Falls Prey to Boxer’s Bizarre Claims

The Georgina accused Malykhin of not fully paying him the $50,000 he lost to him in a bet that they made back in 2021. According to Dvalishvili, Malykhin had only paid him about $11,000 so far. After he won his third title in the promotion, Dvalishvili asked him to put his money where his “big mouth is”.

An interesting crossover between the UFC and ONE Championship and perhaps a rare one at that. Either way, do you think Malykhin will pay him the cash soon? What was the bet really about? One can only speculate.

Also Read: What Type of Fighter Is Merab Dvalishvili? Is the UFC Bantamweight a Wrestler?