Henry Cejudo heaps praise on former foe Merab Dvalishvili, says 'The Machine' is the "greatest bantamweight of all time"
Henry Cejudo recently shared his thoughts on Merab Dvalishvili and named him as the bantamweight GOAT for his accomplishments at 135-pounds. Cejudo noted that it's difficult to find another bantamweight competitor that matches what Dvalishvili has done in the division despite other competitors who had more title defenses.
Dvalishvili has defeated several legends and former champions, including Cejudo, who has since heaped praise on his abilities. 'The Machine' is currently the reigning bantamweight champion and has one successful title defense, which came against highly touted contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who was previously undefeated.
Although he has some more work to do in order to match his teammate Aljamain Sterling's title defense record, Dvalishvili has definitely done enough to warrant strong consideration for the label of bantamweight GOAT. In his latest appearance on JAXXON PODCAST, Cejudo mentioned that 'The Machine' wins and the manner in which he won his fights are the deciding factor in sealing the bantamweight GOAT debate. He said:
"I gotta give credit to Merab and this is why I would say like, he's the greatest bantamweight of all time... Yeah [he's better than T.J. Dillashaw]. Look at the list of who he's beat and how he's beat them. There's a big difference."
Check out Henry Cejudo's comments regarding Merab Dvalishvili below:
When is Merab Dvalishvili's next bantamweight title defense?
Merab Dvalishvili is scheduled to make the next defense of his bantamweight strap against Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316, which takes place on Jun. 7. The bout will mark Dvalishvili's second title defense after successfully retaining his title against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 this past January.
The UFC 316 main event is a rematch of their previous encounter at the Las Vegas Sphere card last September, which saw Dvalishvili earn a unanimous decision win over O'Malley to become the new bantamweight champion. 'The Machine' has been open about his previous win over 'Suga' and expressed interest in winning in a more decisive fashion in their rematch.