Merab Dvalishvili explains why he won’t ask Mark Zuckerberg to corner him against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306
Merab Dvalishvili is one of a handful of UFC fighters who have spent time with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg since the tech mogul took a passionate interest in MMA. The Facebook founder has been captured at numerous UFC events and even joined Alexander Volkanovski for his walkout ahead of his clash with Ilia Topuria.
Despite becoming acquaintances with Zuckerberg, Dvalishvili recently explained that he won't be asking him to join the bantamweight for his title fight against champion Sean O'Malley.
'The Machine' is scheduled to challenge O'Malley for the 135-pound title at UFC 306 in September in a monumental occasion for both the fighters and the promoters. The event is scheduled to take place at the iconic Sphere in Las Vegas and will be the first MMA event at the venue.
Ahead of his title fight, the Georgian was interviewed by Helen Yee, where he discussed why he won't ask Zuckerberg to be part of his corner team for fight night.
"I was thinking of asking [Zuckerberg] to corner me, but I know Sean O'Malley knows him too... I don't want to put Mark Zuckerberg [in that position], I don't want to make him uncomfortable."
Catch Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (13:25):
Sean O'Malley's coach won't let Merab Dvalishvili "punk him"
Sean O'Malley and his coach, Tim Welch, have been together since 2013, and the pair share an immensely close bond.
In an unexpected turn of events, Welch, a former fighter himself, has now found himself exchanging words with O'Malley's upcoming opponent, Merab Dvalishvili.
Footage of 'Sugar' and his upcoming opponent in a heated back-and-forth over comments made by Welch recently did rounds online, and the MMA coach has now shared his thoughts on Dvalishvili's irritation.
He was recently interviewed by Submission Radio, where Welch said this:
"I thought it was because I said we’re going to target his nose in an interview, which isn’t a lie... But then Merab tweeted out and said, 'Next time I see you, I’m going to take care of it' or something. And it’s like, 'Come on, brother.'"
He followed:
"I haven’t trained martial arts my whole life for a little 5-foot-4 guy to try to punk me out. I’ve trained my whole life, and I’m only 34 years old. I’m six foot, 195 pounds. It’s like, alright, alright, well, we’ll see what happens."
Watch Tim Welch discuss beef with Merab Dvalishvili below (6:15):