UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili disagrees with the portion of fans and pundits who have questioned the decision to grant Sean O'Malley a title rematch.
Dvalishvili and O'Malley will renew hostilities this June following their five-round contest inside the Sphere last September. On that occasion, the Georgian dominated to emerge with the 135-pound gold in his possession.
In his first fight back since, "Suga" will receive an immediate shot at redemption, battling "The Machine" in the main event of UFC 316 on June 7.
The decision to have O'Malley fight for the title instead of facing a fellow contender for the right to do so has split opinion in the MMA community.
But during an appearance on Tuesday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Dvalishvili leapt to the defense of his rival, claiming he "deserves" the shot.
Even though a lot of people criticize O'Malley getting the rematch, I think he deserves it," Merab Dvalishvili said. "He made lots of excuses after the fight and I know he will make adjustments and he will change the game plan.
It's gonna be a totally different fight," Dvalishvili continued. "I know he will attack me from the beginning with the body kicks and striking. I want to test my striking, too.
