"He’s my mini-Strickland” - Dana White reacts to Merab Dvalishvili’s fight with a fan at UFC 310
Merab Dvalishvili was captured getting into an altercation with a fan while he was walking back to the locker room from the octagon at UFC 310. 'The Machine' featured as part of Aljamain Sterling's corner team for his clash against Movsar Evloev. Dvalishvili and another member of the corner team were seen getting into a fight with a fan, though it is unclear what caused the incident.
With the bantamweight champion set to face Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January, there have been concerns that his conduct could cause some issues with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, where UFC 310 was held.
Following the conclusion of the UFC's final pay-per-view of 2024, the promotion's CEO Dana White appeared in front of the media. He was asked to comment on Dvalishvili's current mindset, where he said:
"This isn't his first altercation... It's the way he is, he's built that way... We try to diffuse this stuff before it happens and tonight we had a good gameplan. I didn't think he'd get into a fight walking out with Aljamain." [10:45-11:30]
White was asked if there was anything the UFC could do to stop Dvalishvili's incidents with fans, and he said:
"He's my mini-Strickland, without the mouth. What do you do? Let him buy the pay-per-view, I guess. I don't know. You can't keep fighting with f**king fans. It's gonna cost you a lot. You can do it, it's gonna cost you a lot of money." [13:00-13:20]
Check out Dana White's comments on Merab Dvalishvili below:
Dana White shares wild story about booking Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
UFC 311 will see a long-awaited bantamweight matchup materialize when Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov fight for the title on Jan. 18. Following his win over Sean O'Malley at UFC 306, Dvalishvili was expected to face Nurmagomedov next.
But 'The Machine' was adamant that he did not deserve it, which in turn led to the Dagestani fighter accusing him of being "scared" to fight.
Whilst announcing the bantamweight title clash, Dana White shared an insight into how swift the fight negotiations were, saying:
"The co-main event will be a bantamweight title fight between the champion, Merab Dvalishvili, and undefeated number one contender Umar Nurmagomedov."
He continued:
"Merab came into the office late last night, told us that he is tired of listening to Umar disrespect him and wanted to make this fight happen as soon as possible. We called Umar, he was sleeping in Dagestan. He said, 'Hell yes, anywhere and anytime.'"
Check out Dana White's comments below: