Merab Dvalishvili, the top-ranked bantamweight in the UFC, reacted to comments from promotion head Dana White, who called him “next-level stupid” and accused the Georgian fighter of intentionally mocking him by posting a video of a cut he received before his fight with Sean O'Malley.
Dvalishvili told MMA Junkie:
I never regret what I did. I post this because I post everything in my social media. It wasn't a big deal because I had more than three weeks when I got cut, and I know that my cut will take five days to heal up, and then this cut didn't affect my training, my sparring – nothing. As you see, I'm healed up. Everything is good. When I saw Dana was upset, of course I don't want to upset Dana White and UFC or do something like that. But I was very calm and relaxed because it wasn't a big deal. I don't regret nothing.
Recall that Dvalishvili and O'Malley's fight will take place on September 15 in Las Vegas (USA) at the UFC 306 tournament.
Dvalishvili last entered the octagon in February 2024 at UFC 298, defeating Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision. He has 17 wins and four losses on his record.
O'Malley had his last fight in March 2024 as part of the UFC 299 tournament, winning against Marlon Vera by unanimous decision. He has 18 wins and one loss on his record.