Aljamain Sterling responds to Sean O’Malley’s claim that he isn’t friends with Merab Dvalishvili: “It’s just cute to see"
Sean O'Malley recently claimed that the friendship between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili is less genuine than it appears. The pair have been training partners and friends for many years and train together at Serra-Longa Fight Team in New York.
During Sterling's bantamweight title reign from 2021 to 2023, 'The Machine' was surging up the rankings. So much so that Dvalishvili found himself the No.1 contender during his friend's title reign, and he opted out of fighting 'FunkMaster' for the belt due to their close relationship.
'Sugar' instead faced off against Sterling at UFC 292, where he secured a knockout win in Round 2. After successfully defending the title against Marlon Vera at UFC 299, he is set to fight the Georgian in the main event of Noche UFC 306 on Sept. 14.
Ahead of the fight, the 29-year-old shared a theory suggesting that Dvalishvili and Sterling were not as friendly as they seemed. His comments have drawn a response from the former champion, who said this during a recent interview with Helen Yee
"I think it's simply the art of war. He's looking for things to try and tug at to see if he can try and get in Merab's head a little bit. It's of no effect, but it's just cute to see him try and do stuff like that. It's gonna be a great fight."
Watch Sterling's response to Sean O'Malley below (1:45):
Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili broken down by Israel Adesanya
Noche UFC 306 will feature an exciting bantamweight title fight between Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili in the headliner.
With 'Sugar' regarded as one of the UFC's sharpest strikers, seeing how Dvalishvili can implement his wrestling-heavy approach against the champion will be fascinating.
The clash was recently broken down by Israel Adesanya during a YouTube video, where he said this:
"Merab's style is not Aljamain's style. They train together. He has a different pace, different cardio, and different energy as well coming forward. 'Cause Sean can fight moving backwards and sniping. But different cardio as well... Merab is like Khabib-esque mauler. He's like a f**king mini Grizzly bear, just on you."
He continued:
"The main thing I feel Merab striking with him for is just to get his hands busy, so he can shoot for a takedown, and Sean can time him with a knee or something. Yeah. I'm gonna go Sean by TKO."
Watch Adesanya break down Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili below (16:10):