When Dana White criticized Merab Dvalishvili for his approach toward title shot: "Yeah, I hate it"
Dana White once publicly voiced his annoyance with the No.1-ranked bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili's attitude toward a title shot.
'The Machine' is set to lock horns with reigning champion Sean O'Malley this weekend at UFC 306 in the famed Las Vegas Sphere. However, the Georgian could've fought for the title earlier in his career.
Dvalishvili was adamant to not fight for the gold as long as long as it was with his friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling. Even when 'Funk Master' lost his belt in a TKO loss to 'Suga' at UFC 292, 'The Machine' was indecisive about fighting for the championship.
In a media interaction following Sterling's loss, he demanded a title shot but in the same breath campaigned for 'Funk Master' to be granted an immediate rematch. The 33-year-old's continued easy-going attitude toward a title shot hit a nerve with White.
During a post-fight press conference of 'Dana White's Contender Series' (DWCS) 2023, the UFC CEO slammed the fighter, saying:
"Everybody in this room and everybody who watches this video knows how I feel about this s**t. Yeah, I hate it. Why did you even get into this sport if that's your mentality in the way that you think? 'I don't even want the title, I don't want the championship. We're friends, we're this, we're that'... This is not about friendship. It's about finding who the best in the world is and if you don't want to find out who the best in the world is, this is not the place for you."
Catch Dana White's comments below:
When Dana White raged about "dumb" Merab Dvalishvili's injury
Merab Dvalishvili getting cut on his face, weeks out from his UFC 306 title fight caused some concern. Ultimately, the cut was less severe than expected and did not jeopardize the UFC 306 main event.
Dana White, however, was furious with the 'The Machine' for posting the injury on social media. Talking to media during a recent DWCS press conference, the UFC CEO blasted the bantamweight for making the injury public, saying:
"The whole world knows about Merab's cut, he posted it. Our guys are so dumb, it's next-level unbelievable... Our guys can't f*****g wait to throw it up on social media. It's a small cut, it's no big deal but obviously needed to be posted."
Catch Dana White's comments below: