Fight fans — and even UFC CEO Dana White — are drawing comparisons between former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and current bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili, albeit with a twist.
Dvalishvili is being dubbed the “mini-Strickland,” but “without the mouth,” according to White.
The Georgian is set to make his first title defense against undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, 2025. However, his antics outside the octagon are grabbing the headlines.
At UFC 310 on Saturday night, Dvalishvili was involved in an altercation with a fan after cornering Aljamain Sterling for his bout against Movsar Evloev. Security stepped in to separate “The Machine” from the fan, but the situation escalated when the fan began exchanging punches with another member of Sterling’s coaching team, UFC featherweight Dennis Buzukja.
Addressing the incident during the UFC 310 post-fight press conference, White expressed both exasperation and resignation.
“He’s my mini-Strickland — without the mouth,” White said of Dvalishvili. “What do you do? Let him buy the pay-per-view, I guess. You can’t keep fighting with f*cking fans. You can do it, but it’s going to cost you a lot of money. I say it all the time: we’re in the f*cking fight business. This happens. We’ve got to deal with it.”
This isn’t Dvalishvili’s first clash with fans. In August, he confronted a heckler during the Craig Jones Invitational in Las Vegas, climbing into the audience to address the situation.
At the UFC 311 on-sale press conference this week, White admitted he had to keep an eye on Dvalishvili after noticing another fan taunting him from the crowd.
