Merab Dvalishvili names astronomical price for the UFC to make him fight Aljamain Sterling

Despite being two of the top bantamweights in the world, Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili remain close friends. Following the latter's dominant performance against Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 221, there has been plenty of speculation about whether the pair will face one another eventually. 'The Machine' recently revealed the substantial price it would cost the promotion for him to face 'Funk Master.'

Henry Cejudo, who will challenge Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288, recently claimed that he wanted Dvalishvili to serve as the backup fighter as he doesn't believe the champion will show up. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the No.3-ranked bantamweight was asked about the comments from 'Triple C':

"It would be weird because Aljo will show up and I'm not fighting Aljo. If they want to make me fight Aljo, maybe they'll have to pay $10 billion then yes, I'll be ready, but otherwise, I don't need to be a backup because Aljo will show up."

Merab Dvalishvili claimed that Henry Cejudo not showing up should be the concern:

"The question is if Henry shows up. Let's see if he shows. He was away a couple of years already. Now, let's see if he shows up and hopefully he shows up and we will see now. All the talk will be done. We will see a real champion."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

Merab would fight Aljo for $10B.
#TheMMAHour https://t.co/uqwp3CIUK7

Aljamain Sterling will look to defend his bantamweight title for the third time at UFC 288. While Merab Dvalishvili is now also in contention for the title, it remains to be seen if their unwillingness to face one another will further complicate an already crowded title picture.

Merab Dvalishvili discusses Aljamain Sterling's plan to move to featherweight

Aljamain Sterling shared that he is open to moving up a weight class to give Merab Dvalishvili the opportunity to become the first Georgian UFC champion. The No.3-ranked bantamweight recently shared some insight into those plans and said:

"I understand the business, but Aljamain Sterling, he's my friend and my brother. Aljo has a fight now, he's fighting Henry Cejudo. I'm going to be back to the gym in a week and I'm going to help him with preparation for Henry Cejudo. I think after that he will beat up O'Malley and he says he's planning to move up. If he wants to do that, I will fight [for the] title."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below:

Merab Dvalishvili will not fight "brother" Aljamain Sterling, but has an idea of when he might fight for the bantamweight title 🏆 #TheMMAHour

"I think after [Henry Cejudo], he will beat up [Sean] O’Malley, and he says he’s planning to move up."

▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=CQ2GuH… https://t.co/HdNRKAN5JQ

While Dvalishvili is on the cusp of a bantamweight title shot, he will likely have to wait for Sean O'Malley to receive that opportunity, regardless of the outcome at UFC 288. Sterling and Cejudo have both teased a bout with the No.1-ranked bantamweight following his UFC 280 victory over Petr Yan.