Merab Dvalishvili offered up some words of encouragement to Sean O’Malley after going 2-0 over ‘Suga’ at UFC 316. Dvalishvili made the sophomore defense of his 135 pound belt when he submitted the man he initially claimed it from, O’Malley, on June 7th in Newark. The UFC bantamweight champion has been doing the media rounds since this win and Dvalishvili fielded several questions on The Ariel Helwani Show after this victory. When asked about what advice he would offer up to O’Malley after now sustaining a second loss to the reigning bantamweight champion, Dvalishvili said,
“I would just say, stay positive. Loss sometimes is good. It makes you motivated, makes you change, makes you get better mentally and physically. Of course, loss in a fight is never good, but you have to blame yourself and look for a reason to get better. Just do your best. If you still love this, keep doing it, keep training. As long as you love it, keep doing it. If you don’t love it anymore, then relax. He’s a happy dad, I wish him all the best. Not everybody will be champion. Only eight guys will be champion at a time. If you still love this, keep doing it.”
Merab Dvalishvili leaps over MMA GOAT in P4P rankings
Merab Dvalishvili has such an impressive resume at this point that many are saying he’s the greatest bantamweight in mixed martial arts history and his win at UFC 316 has positioned him above a man many see as the overall MMA GOAT. In the latest rankings update from the UFC, it now has Dvalishvili positioned at number two in the pound for pound rankings above Jon Jones who is in the number three spot in then P4P hierarchy. The only fighter in the company who now sits above the UFC bantamweight kingpin is Islam Makhachev with the number one pound for pound fighter in the promotion recently vacating his lightweight belt to now pursue welterweight gold.
