Belal Muhammad questions Merab Dvalishvili's focus ahead of Noche UFC 306 clash with Sean O'Malley: "Being a character"
Belal Muhammad is openly wondering whether Merab Dvalishvili is truly focused on beating Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 306 in the manner he believes he should. The bout marks the Georgian star's first-ever title shot in the UFC after an arduous 10-fight win streak.
If anyone knows what it's like to receive a crack at divisional gold after a 10-fight unbeaten streak, it's Muhammad. Unfortunately, he suspects that Dvalishvili may be more interested in hamming up a character he has projected to draw fan interest towards himself.
The reigning welterweight champion said as much in a recent sitdown with the legendary Demetrious Johnson, during which they predicted the Noche UFC 306 main event.
"Merab [Dvalishvili] is very wild when he runs in and even with his takedowns, he'll sacrifice defense just to shoot in and grab a hold of you. Once he grabs a hold of you, it's going to be a long night, but I just think [Sean] O'Malley has known he was going to be fighting him for a while now. He's been trained for him, he knows how to do that backstep, he has so much power back-stepping and hitting him. I think I see Merab walking into something."
Not only does he favor O'Malley to beat Dvalishvili come fight night due to the latter's sloppiness in the defensive striking department, Muhammad also feels that 'The Machine' may be distracted by social media antics.
"This last month of stuff that Merab has just been posting, I think he's been doing too much social media, thinking about promoting and being a character instead of training hard for the fight, where you're getting stitches. You're showing you're getting stitches, then taking them out with the scissors. Then you're drinking in Mexico."
Check out Belal Muhammad's verdict on tomorrow's main event (8:37):
For quite some time, Dvalishvili has been regarded as a stylistic nightmare for O'Malley due to his wrestling and cardio, but his defensive lapses have drawn more scrutiny as of late. Naturally, some are now swaying in their opinion of his chances.
Belal Muhammad began playing a character himself
While Belal Muhammad's work ethic, especially training with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, can never be questioned, he too has leaned into playing a character as of late. Once respectful, 'Remember the Name' has become a trash-talker who pokes fun at others, including Kamaru Usman.
"He's on a 3 fight losing streak so he's tryn to get only f*ns to sponsor him im not that desperate yet."
In fact, Muhammad recently challenged Demetrious Johnson to a fight prediction regarding Noche UFC 306, which 'Mighty Mouse' seems to have accepted by welcoming him onto his podcast.