Merab Dvalishvili defeated Henry Cejudo via a comprehensive unanimous decision at their UFC 298 clash earlier this year. By virtue of his victory over the Olympic gold medalist and former two-division champion, the Armenian became the official #1 contender for the bantamweight title.

Now, ‘The Machine’ will face champ Sean O’Malley, who has indicated a 2025 date for the bout. In the meantime, however, the duo have been taking shots at each other, with Dvalishvili and O’Malley making skits featuring a fake Sean O’Malley or a male doll that ‘Suga’ has christened ‘Merab’. While everything may be fun and games for now, Joe Rogan and former light heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson think Dvalishvili will be a daunting challenge for ‘Suga’ when they meet in the octagon.

Joe Rogan thinks Merab Dvalishvili is a nightmare for Sean O’Malley

Speaking to ‘Rampage’ on episode #159 of the JRE MMA show, Joe Rogan was all praises for Merab. The UFC commentator felt that the Armenian, who is on a ten-fight win streak, is one of the mentally toughest fighters in the entire promotion. Rogan was particularly impressed by the fact that ‘The Machine’ had kept working on his game and continued to get better with every fight.

“Dude Merab is a scary character cuz that motherf***er never gets tired. Bro and his heart is crazy…He’s unstoppable like his mind is unstoppable… He just keeps getting better, too. Merab, every time he fights, he gets better,” Rogan said.

On the other hand, Rogan was incredibly impressed by Sean O’Malley’s UFC 299 performance against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, too. However, he felt that Dvalishvili was a nightmare matchup for the champ. O’Malley, of course, had faced ‘Chito’ for his first title defense in March and had put on an absolute masterclass in striking, dominating the fight for almost the entirety of the five rounds. But, Rogan felt that Dvalishvili, with his historically great wrestling, had the perfect style to take O’Malley, and beat him there, as ‘Suga’ doesn’t have much of a ground game.

“He’s the worst matchup for Sean, the worst matchup on paper for Sean in that division is Merab. Because if you have a chance to beat Sean, how would you beat him? You got to take him down, right?” Rogan asked ‘Rampage’. The reason Rogan was singing praises of Dvalishvili’s wrestling was because of ‘The Machine’s spectacular showing against Henry Cejudo.

‘The Machine’s spectacular victory over Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo is not just an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, but the youngest-ever American to win a gold in the sport. Given Cejudo’s bona fide wrestling credentials, the ease and adroitness with which Dvalishvili was able to out-wrestle, and at times, even toy with Cejudo at their UFC 298 clash is what has Joe Rogan profusely praising Dvalishvili’s wrestling.

“Merab is an animal. Man, what he did to Henry Cejudo, I was like I can’t even believe this is happening. When he carried him, when he picked him up and then he’s like like stuck his tongue out and he walked over towards where the UFC people were and then slammed him, slammed Henry Cejudo- Olympic gold medalist, who the f**k does that bro!” he exclaimed.

Merab Dvalishvili, known for his exceptional ground wrestling, would indeed pose a significant challenge for O’Malley. However, ‘Suga’ is no stranger to grapplers, having defeated Dvalishvili’s teammate and close friend, Aljamain Sterling, to win the title last year. But this is MMA, and nothing is certain until they face off in the octagon, likely next year. What are your predictions for O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili?