Merab Dvalishvili pulls no punches in savage response to Sean O'Malley's 'still the champ' claim: "It’s hard to be a dad these days"
Merab Dvalishvili recently reacted to Sean O'Malley's claim that he was still the UFC bantamweight champion by responding with a hilarious skit. The Georgian-born fighter implied that he was O'Malley's father and jokingly took shots at the Montana native's marijuana use.
For context, Dvalishvili beat O'Malley via unanimous decision at UFC 306 last weekend to capture the 135-pound title. Dvalishvili successfully neutralized O'Malley's striking and imposed himself on 'Sugar' using his exceptional grappling skills. In the aftermath, O'Malley claimed he didn't lose the fight and claimed he's "defending the belt" against Umar Nurmagomedov next year.
O'Malley later posted a flashy video on Instagram doubling down on his claims and boldly proclaimed:
"Just rewatched the fight. I won rounds one, three, and five. F**k you, Merab. You're still a bi**h. I'm the champ. And still undefeated. Defending my belt in June or July against Umar Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas."
In response, Dvalishvili shared a clip of O'Malley's video and extended it. In an Instagram post, he added footage of him driving into a blow-up doll of O'Malley on the street. After getting out of the car and confronting mini-O'Malley, he says:
"Sean? It's you, my friend? What's wrong with you, bro? Why you keep smoking, my friend? Now it's a sleep time for you... Listen, son, don't worry about this, Umar Nurmagomedov. I will take care of Umar. You are not a champion anymore, and I'm going to take your belt again. So you drive safe, son."
In the post's caption, Dvalishvili wrote:
"It's hard to be a dad these days."
Merab Dvalishvili on Herb Dean affecting his performance against Sean O'Malley at UFC 306
Merab Dvalishvili recently spoke about referee Herb Dean's controversial warnings during his fight against Sean O'Malley at UFC 306 last weekend. After rewatching the fight, 'The Machine' admitted that Dean's actions affected his performance.
In the opening round, Dean warned Dvalishvili against interacting with O'Malley's coach outside the cage while fighting. He then asked him to show more activity while grappling in the final round.
In an X post, Dvalishvili explained how Dean distracted him from his game plan and wrote:
"Still, respect for Herb Dean... I finally watched the fight, though, and he definitely affected my 5th round... I had O'Malleys back in a good position and giving damage with knees. But Herb kept telling me to work. So I switched my position, and he told again - work. I let go again and lost my dominant position. I was waiting for Sean to work so I could punch his face or grab the submission."